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Make Herr’s Yours with a 2025 “Flavored by Philly” Competition that Resembles Jeopardy’s Tournament of Champions

By Kevin Kinkead

Published: Jun 9th, 2025 · 9:00 AM EDT

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We wrote a story last year titled Food Review: We May Have Jumped the Shark with Herr’s “Flavored by Philly” Potato Chips, in which it was determined that Herr’s was running out of worthy options for its annual “Flavored by Philly” competition. Between 2022 and 2024, people would submit these uniquely-Philly flavors and Herr’s would pick three finalists, then produce and distribute the chips throughout the region. Consumers would vote for their favorite chip and the creator would win a cash prize.

In year number one, the flavors were Wiz Wit, Long Hots, and 215 Special Sauce. In year two, it was Tomato Pie, Roast Pork, and Korean BBQ. The third year was Cheese Ravioli, Special Hot Stromboli, and Potato Pierogi. Ultimately, we ranked Roast Pork as the best of the nine flavors while 215 Special Sauce was the worst.

Herr’s decided to switch it up this year, and instead of introducing three new flavors, they took the vote winners from the first three years, brought those flavors back, and are pitting them against each other like it’s the Jeopardy! Tournament of Champions featuring Ken Jennings and James Holzhauer.

Here’s part of the blurb, which notes that Kyle Schwarber is getting involved:

NOTTINGHAM, PA – Herr Foods Inc., the iconic Pennsylvania-based snack company, is thrilled to kick off the fourth annual Flavored by Philly – a fan-favorite competition. In a fresh twist for 2025, Herr’s is launching Flavored by Philly: Crunch Off, as this year’s contest invites the public to vote on their favorite flavor from past champions, with the winning chip earning a permanent spot in the Herr’s product lineup.

To celebrate the start of this year’s showdown, Herr’s is teaming up with none other than Philadelphia Phillies slugger and fan-favorite, Kyle Schwarber. A longtime, Herr’s enthusiast, Schwarber is rallying snack lovers across the tri-state area to try all three bold flavors and cast their vote for their favorite.

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Fans can vote for their favorite starting at 9:00 a.m. EST on June 9th at herrsflavoredbyphilly.com

The three competing flavors this year are Long Hots and Provolone, Tomato Pie, and Special Hot Stromboli.

For background, this is how we ranked all nine flavors over the last three years:

1. Roast Pork
2. Long Hots and Provolone
3. Wiz Wit
4. Korean BBQ
5. Pierogi
6. Tomato Pie
7. Special Hot Stromboli
8. Cheese Ravioli
9. 215 Special Sauce

Of all nine flavors, Roast Pork and Long Hots were the two that were most worthy of permanent production and ensuing placement on Delaware Valley shelves.

Here are our consumer reviews for each of the 2025 competitors:

Tomato Pie

It tastes exactly like a tomato pie with the Corropolese OLD WORLD flavor. Is that a good thing or a bad thing? Depends if you like tomato pie or not.

The thing about this chip is that the flavor is on the back end, and it’s sweet, so if your tastes are on that side of the spectrum and not the savory/salty spectrum, then you’d probably like this one. It tastes a little bit like a pizza-flavored Combo or Pringle. I thought it was fine as a novelty, but couldn’t see myself buying a bag and bringing it over to someone’s house for the Birds game or whatever.

Special Hot Stromboli

It’s got the slightest of kicks, thought the taste is somewhere between the tomato pie and cheese ravioli flavors. Not bad on its own, but not necessarily special either. A rudimentary potato chip that works in a vacuum, but doesn’t convey the taste of a stromboli at all. I gave this one the nod over cheese ravioli because the flavor holds a little bit longer without being overpowering.

Long Hots and Provolone

Seasoned well, you taste pepper to start and get the kick towards the end, but it’s not overpowering to the point where you need a glass of water on standby. It’s the Herr’s chip that tastes the most authentically “Philly” out of all of them, and would pair well with a hoagie or a a cheesesteak or any kind of lunch sandwich with deli meat. The description from Herr’s says it has a “gradually-building mild spice,” and that’s completely accurate. It’s one of those unique snacks in which the flavor improves front-to-back without falling out.

I suggest you vote for LONG HOTS AND PROVOLONE, but this is America. It’s a free country. You can vote however you’d like at herrsflavoredbyphilly.com. The press release notes that participants will be “entered to win one of eight sweepstakes prizes, including a Herr’s gift basket filled with snacks and merchandise, plus a $100 gift card.“