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Herr’s Took Me On a Sightseeing Bus Tour to Try the 2026 “Flavored by Philly” Potato Chip Lineup

By Matt Schultz

Published: Jun 9th, 2026 · 12:28 PM EDT

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Each year around this time, Herr’s holds its annual “Flavored by Philly” competition, releasing a trio of new flavors for potato chip enthusiasts. There’s a public vote and the winner gets to join the everyday snack lineup. Past flavors include Tomato Pie, Long Hots, and Special Hot Stromboli, just to name a few.

This time, it’s the debut of three more flavors, themed around the spirit of America 250 and the city-wide celebrations taking place throughout the summer. And there was a sightseeing bus tour to go along with the big reveal. It was a wonderful time. Here’s everything I did and saw:

We were told to meet outside the Bourse Building at 5th and Market at 4:45 PM. I parked my car on the street at 4:40 PM. I tried to pay for parking by downloading some app the parking kiosk told me to download. It was not working on my phone. I tried a few times. Nothing. My phone said I had to reset my Apple password. I didn’t want to do that. It was hot. I was already sweating. Face lotion from my forehead was sweating off and getting in my eyes, making my contacts blurry. Now it was 4:44 PM. I walked away from my car without paying. I rolled the dice, ticket-wise. We would see if today was going to be my day.

This sign told me I was in the right place. All around the sign — about twenty people total, I’d say — were very well-dressed men and women in their 20s. These were influencers, I’d come to learn. I could overhear them speaking in Gen Z phrases I’d only heard on Instagram Reels. “Period.” “That part.” “Wait, I’m screaming.” Et cetera… Sweat staining my t-shirt, lotion stinging my eyes, I blended into the herd and awaited instructions.

We were told to get on this bus.

After picking up one of these teal bags.

I reached inside and pulled out this card that described the new flavors:

I got these sunglasses in the bag, too.

And this wristband.

I walked up the stairs on the double-decker bus.

And settled in near the back.

The influencer woman in front of me took her chips out of her teal bag to take a picture of them. I quietly judged her for that. We were not told to do that yet, so I didn’t. I patiently awaited instructions from the Herr’s team. They’d put a lot of thought into this event, I imagined. Surely they had an order of events in mind. I chose to respect that.

This is the chef who created the new Herr’s flavors. He talked for a bit about his process, and how each of the flavors was crafted to best represent the Philly values of Freedom, Liberty, and Unity. Truthfully, I didn’t really understand the connection between the flavors and values, but I’m not judging anyone for that. Maybe it’s a me problem. Everyone else seemed to get it. After the chef finished his speech, the influencer woman in front of me told him to pose, and that’s the pose he did.

Herr’s told us to take out the Freedom chips from our teal bags, so I did. Here it is. Good-looking bag. Then they told us to try the chips…

The Schultz Chip Score: 8/10. These chips were excellent. I didn’t taste anything particularly “fries” about them. To me, they just tasted like cheese-flavored chips — but they weren’t overly cheesy, which is key. The cheese powder wasn’t caked on. It was an elegant amount of cheese.

Next they told us to take out Liberty. I listened. Another good bag. I like the sauce paintbrush. They told us to try them…

The Schultz Chip Score: 8.5/10. Again, these were excellent. They tasted like a new kind of barbecue chip. I want to use the word “bright.” It had a brighter flavor than your standard barbecue chip. Brighter and maybe lighter. Very good stuff here.

Then they told us to take out Liberty and try the chips…

The Schultz Chip Score: 9.5/10. It makes sense why the Herr’s folks had us try these last — Liberty was the unquestioned headliner of the event. These chips were all-time good. These may be in the running for the best chips I’ve ever had. They have a spice to them, a kick, a heat, that even on this hot-ass afternoon was truly delightful.

While everyone on the bus was munching these chips, I overheard someone nearby say, “Having these ones with a cold hoagie is the move.” I privately thought about that comment for a long time afterward. I never thought about sandwich temperature like that before; it never occurred to me to pair a cold sandwich with something spicy as a way to offset/balance things. Truthfully, I’m not sure I really understand what the guy was getting at. Even though we English-speakers describe spicy things as “hot,” spiciness and literal temperature occupy very different spaces in my mind. In fact, they don’t relate or crossover at all. What an interesting thing for that guy to say.

Anyway, that stranger’s comment aside, these chips were damn good chips.

After we tried the chips, the actual Philly sightseeing tour began. It wasn’t really chips-themed from here on out; it was just a regular history tour, pretty much. This guy was the tour guide. He ruled. Really knew his stuff. He seemed a bit thrown that we were a chips event and not an elementary school field trip, but he rolled with the punches and did a great job. I also came to feel a real kinship with him. He and I were the only two regular sweating guys on a bus full of cool Gen Z influencers. We were brothers in arms… And that bond is eternal…

Once the bus started moving, this influencer woman’s hair kept blowing in/around my face. After I made a few noises that subtly expressed my dismay about this, she got the hint and kind of rolled her hair up. I’m proud that I managed to solve this problem without being rude or having to engage in any real conflict resolution conversations. Just a few small sounds/sighs got the job done.

Saw a dog on a balcony. Didn’t bark or anything. He was unfazed by us. City dogs have seen it all…

Couldn’t believe my eyes. Corn exchange. I’ve lived in this city my whole life, and there are still fascinating new things to see.

A billboard of the sky. Whole bus got a kick out of that.

[muttering to myself while looking at this massive guitar, wiping sweat/face lotion out of my eyes:]

We stopped at Love Park for some catered Wawa. The line formed very quickly. From the back/top of the bus, I watched helplessly as the front-of-bus-people got to the food first. There was nothing I could do…

[muttering to myself while staring at three bags of chips under the Rocky statue:]

This is the CEO of Herr’s. Very nice guy.

Saw this Spider-Man guy with a bucket.

And that was that. From there, we all got back on the bus and headed back to the Bourse Building. Overall, it was a great experience. I tried some delicious new chips. I became a Gen Z influencer. I learned some cool stuff about Philly history, none of which I can recall right now. And, crucially…

I did not get a parking ticket. It was, indeed, my day. Thanks Herr’s.

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Here are the official chip descriptions for 2026. You can buy these throughout the summer, everywhere Herr’s is sold:

Freedom Loaded Cheese Fries

Inspired by the bold and enduring vision of American independence first declared at Independence Hall in Philadelphia, Freedom Loaded Cheese Fries is a ripple potato chip perfectly seasoned to taste like crispy french fries topped with creamy cheese and smoky bacon.

Liberty Hickory Barbeque

Paying homage to the Philadelphia Liberty Bell, which has stood for liberty and bold beginnings since the birth of the nation, Liberty Hickory Barbeque is a ripple potato chip packed with barbecue-sauce flavor combined with sweet molasses and a smoky hickory flavor.

United Jalapeño Cream Cheese

Driven by the spirit of Betsy Ross, who is attributed with designing the first American Flag and whose house in Philadelphia stands to this day as a symbol of unity, United Jalapeño Cream Cheese is a ripple potato chip with bold cream cheese flavor paired with mild jalapeño pepper spice.