27th May 2019

Australia’s hot chip obsession: 1.5 million Aussies admit to asking a stranger for a hot chip

NEW Menulog research reveals why one of Australia’s favourite smells has driven people to extreme measures to satisfy their cravings

It’s no surprise Australians order more than 3.5 million servings of hot chips per week via food delivery service, Menulog, with new research revealing the extent of the nation’s obsession with this salty side, as a quarter of all Australians say hot chips are their absolute favourite food smell1.

Around the same number (23%) admitted to going so far as to eating someone else’s leftover chips because they couldn’t resist and almost 1.5 million of us have asked a stranger for a chip after catching its scent.

The smell has proven so potent, that two in five Aussies say their mouth starts to water instantly when they smell hot chips and 3 million say they have physically drooled when scrolling through food photos on social media. The research also shows less than half of Aussies are willing to share their hot chips and more than one in 10 reporting they ‘guard them with their life’.

The data also demonstrates a strong link between nostalgia and hot chips, with almost half (48%) of Australians reporting the first thing they think of when smelling the dish are good memories from the past.

Dr Alex Russell, Food Psychologist and Taste & Smell Expert says it’s very common for food smells to stir memories that drive action.

“Smells can serve as powerful cues for memories, because the smell is directly linked to memory centres in our brain. Part of the reason Aussies love eating hot chips so much is because, for most of us, eating hot chips is a fun thing to do, and is usually associated with pleasant memories from childhood. The craving kicks in because the smell may remind us that we need to eat, but it also reminds us, subconsciously, of the positive feeling that comes with eating this particular food,” said Dr Russell.

To celebrate the smell that stimulates salivation, Menulog will be launching the first-ever ‘Pay by Smell’ hot chip shop on Wednesday 29 May at midday in World Square, Sydney. The pop-up will exclusively serve thousands of free hot chips - Sydneysiders just need to use their nose and follow the smell to find the shop.

“There are many moments of joy when you order food online - be it perusing the menus of all your favourite restaurants, selecting whatever you feel like at the touch of a button, smelling the delicious aroma as your food arrives or enjoying the meal with friends and family. We wanted to bring these moments of joy to life for customers by delivering one of their favourite foods (and smells) for free,” said Simon Cheng, Menulog Marketing Director., at Menulog. Australia.

"Menulog's pop-up Hot Chip Shop is a cheeky play on our new campaign, Did Somebody Say Menulog, that instead questions 'Did Somebody ​Smell​ M​ enulog?​' as we ask Sydney-siders to sniff their way to their free chips!" he said.

In a question potentially bigger than whether pineapple belongs on pizza, the Menulog study has also finally settled the score on the best kind of hot chip, with ‘long, soft chips with little seasoning’ emerging as the favourite, followed by ‘anything with chicken salt or seasoning to the max’ and ‘small, dark and very crispy’. Of course, the Menulog ‘Pay by Smell’ hot chip shop will be serving Australia’s favourite style.

For more details, head to the ​Menulog Blog.

Additional Research Findings

Age is just a number... of chips people eat at one time.

  • Millennials are 78 percent more likely to eat more than three chips at once and 80 percent more likely to eat all of the chips before the rest of their meal.
  • More than one in 10 millennials have immediately ordered chips from their smartphone after smelling them.

Aussie hot chip etiquette

With around 15 million servings of chips ordered each month, the research reveals some strong themes when it comes to hot chip etiquette:

  • Less than half of Aussies are willing to share their chips and more than one in 10 ‘guard them with their life’
  • Women are 19 percent more likely to share than me

1YouGov Galaxy Research prepared for Menulog, May 2019