A gripe many chips enthusiasts have with products are bags that appear to be primarily filled with “air.”
It can be disappointing to see a large package of what you think is filled to the brim with your favorite salty snack, only to crack it open and find that only a fraction of the container is filled with— and the rest with negative space.
A Subway employee and TikToker named Tyler (@smokoguuwop) further fanned the flames of air-filled-bag hate in a viral clip where he showed just how much air is in a Lay’s chip bag. His video accumulated over 2.2 million views, and sparked a litany of comments.
@smokoguuwop it's just air 😭 #subway #fypシ #fyp #foryourpage #foryoupage #lays #layschips #layseverywhere #subwayisfresh ♬ original sound – Tyler
He records the video from the interior of a Subway location where he shows off the Lay’s chips in question.
“OK, I’m at Subway right, I work back here, anyways, so after we stock these f*cking chips all the time, I got this bag of chips, it just fell out,” he says.
Tyler holds up the bag he’s referring to on camera—it’s the barbecue flavor.
“Check this sh*t out. Remember how people talk about Lay’s gave you f*cking air?” he says.
He then tosses the bag up before him, and it gently and slowly glides to the ground, indicating that the bag is indeed, filled with just air.
“There’s literally nothing in this f*cking bag, listen,” he then shakes the bag in front of the camera and the only sound it makes is that of crinkling packaging, but it doesn’t sound like there’s anything inside.
“There’s nothing in here. What the f*ck?” he concludes.
There have been several complaints about the quantities of chips inside packaging bags, and despite Tyler, and other customers’ claims that the bags are filled with “air,” it’s actually nitrogen gas. This is used to help create a buffer in the packaging to minimize chips from breaking and crumbling during transportation, as well as to keep the products fresher, and crisper, for longer.
But in Tyler’s case, it seems that the bag of chips in question was filled with nitrogen gas, but missed the “chip” portion of the assembly line process completely.
TikTokers who saw the clip joked about the situation.
“Nah bro it full,” one user quipped.
While another joked, “It’s the Apple edition you need to buy the chips separately.”
Other commenters said they also encountered purchasing products from popular brands that came with completely empty containers.
“Not only does lays give you air, but I’ve had way too many cans of Dr Pepper come in where they’re literally empty,” a user shared.
Someone else seemed to think that this was a problem endemic to Subway, writing, “This is why I always buy my chips and drink from a gas station before getting home with my sub.”
This isn’t the first time a customer has found a strange bag of chip-less chips when purchasing their favorite brand. One TikToker showed a strange metal puck that was in a bag of Ruffles they purchased, which they contacted the company about in a strange saga detailing how sometimes, errors in the manufacturing process can leave people without their snacks.
Then there was another Lay’s customer who showed that they, too, ended up with a bag of Lay’s she discovered, upon opening, was filled with nothing but the nitrogen gas pumped into the bag.
The Daily Dot has reached out to Subway and Frito-Lay via email, and Tyler via TikTok comment.
