9 Latino-Inspired Products That Are Good, Bad And Weird
If you need any proof that Latinos are influencing American culture more and more, just walk through a major supermarket. Decades ago, you could barely find any traditional Latino products. Now, not only is there usually a Latino product section in the store, some of the most mainstream brands around create products with Latino-influenced flavors, like these:
Limón Pepino Gatorade
Credit: Gatorade / PepsiCo
If you’re Mexican, you probably grew up drinking agua de pepino with limón. If you were somehow deprived of that agua fresca goodness, you DEFINITELY had a taste of sliced cucumbers with salt, chile y limón. Well, someone at Gatorade found out about this magical combination and created their “Lime Cucumber / Pepino Limón” flavor. It became so popular that a bunch of pepino fiends created a Facebook fan page for it. Maxim even wrote an entire piece about it titled “The Cult of Limon Pepino Gatorade.”
Doritos Dinamita
Credit: Sabritas / Lay’s
Doritos thought they had the tortilla chip game on lock until Takis came along and left your fingers bright red. Doritos took notice and retaliated with the “Dinamita” line, which features those familiar rolled-up tortilla chips with flavors such as Chile Limón, Fiery Habanero, Mojo Criollo and Nacho Picoso.
Dulce de Leche Cheerios
Credit: General Mills
Ummm, yes, totally into this. As if Cheerios weren’t already delicious and snack-worthy on their own, that sweet, Argentinian-inspired dulce de leche flavor makes this sound irresistible.
Ruffles Tapatío Chips
Credit: Sabritas / Lay’s
Latinos have been adding Tapatío and limón to Ruffles (and pretty much any other chip) for decades. In 2011, the folks at Lay’s finally caught on and created Tapatío and limón flavored Ruffles and Doritos. Guess what? That doesn’t stop people from adding even more Tapatío and limón to their Tapatío-flavored chips.
Mini Cinnamon Churros Cereal
Credit: Post Cereal
When you get the craving for the cinnamon goodness of fried dough, nothing can hold you back from a churro. Especially when you can find ’em for cheap at a local neighborhood spot. Now there’s a cereal version?! ARE YOU KIDDING ME?! BRB, gotta go clean up my drool.
Lay’s Pico de Gallo Chips
Credit: Lay’s
This one is a little weird because you’re probably used to eating pico de gallo with tortilla chips. Someone at Lay’s said “F*ck it, let’s try it on potato chips” and, apparently, people love it.
Rockstar Horchata Energy Drink
Credit: Rockstar
Who asked for an horchata-flavored energy drink? Not you and not us, but someone made it anyway. It’s anyone guess what this tastes like, but it definitely wouldn’t exist without Mexicans.
Bud Light Lime
Credit: Budweiser
Once again, Mexicans have been drinking beer with lime and salt for DECADES. After years of watching Americans add limes to their Coronas, Bud Light began channeling its own inner-Corona with this lime flavored beer.
Chipotle Wheat Thins
Credit: Nabisco
At some point in the 2000s, Americans “discovered” chipotle and soon, chipotle-flavored everything became available at your local supermarket. There’s chipotle mayo, chipotle cream cheese, chipotle peanuts, etc. Well, the folks at Nabisco decided to throw a little chipotle on their Wheat Thins to “spice” things up.
Kern’s Agua Fresca In Tamarindo, Jamaica & Limón
Credit: Kern’s
Kern’s, which makes all sorts of delicious and refreshing juices, was purchased by Mexican company Jumex in 2013. That probably explains their Aguas Frescas line, which boasts three different flavors.
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