🎨 This image is an AI-generated illustration, not a photograph of a specific stall or dish.
Honey Butter Chip (허니버터칩) is the potato chip that set off Korea’s whole sweet-and-savoury snack craze. First the facts, then the story.
🍫 The basics
- What it is: ridged potato chips with a sweet-and-savoury honey-and-butter seasoning — Korea’s original “honey butter” snack.
- Main ingredients: potatoes, vegetable oil, honey, butter and milk solids, sugar, salt.
- Calories: roughly 350 kcal per standard ~60 g bag, depending on size.
- Maker & year: Haitai (in a tie-up with Japan’s Calbee) launched it in 2014.
- ⚠️ Allergens: milk (butter/dairy) and soy; check the pack for wheat traces.
The story: the chip that sold out a nation
When Haitai launched Honey Butter Chip in 2014, demand exploded almost overnight. Bags sold out across the country within days, convenience stores rationed them to one per customer, and resellers charged eye-watering markups online. Empty shelves and “sold out” notes became a running joke — and a genuine national talking point.
- It started a flavour boom. The sweet-savoury hit kicked off a wave of “honey butter everything” — almonds, popcorn, even other chips rushed out copycat versions.
- From scarcity to staple. A decade on, it is easy to find and no longer rationed — but it is still the snack that proved a humble chip could become a cultural event.
Frequently Asked Questions
After its 2014 launch, demand far outstripped supply. Stores sold out within days and rationed bags, and resellers charged big markups online — which only fuelled the hype further.
Sweet and savoury at once: honey sweetness and buttery richness over a light, crispy ridged potato chip. It is milder and sweeter than a typical salted chip.
It is made by Haitai in a tie-up with Japan’s Calbee, and launched in 2014. Its success set off Korea’s honey-butter flavour trend.
It contains milk (from the butter) and soy, so it is generally vegetarian but not vegan. Check the pack for any wheat traces if you are sensitive.
Where it ranks: No. 3 in our 10 Best Korean Snacks guide. Like it? Try Saewookkang and Kkokkal Corn too.
