A well-known Taiwanese potato chip brand 'Potato' recently launched a brand-new 'Bak Kut Teh Flavor' potato chip, but the product’s packaging design has stirred heated discussions among Malaysian netizens, with accusations of containing 'three major cultural mistakes', sparking a wave of debate. In response, the brand’s official representatives have urgently announced a halt to shipments and have disposed of the remaining packaging materials.
According to Taiwan’s SET News, Potato recently launched three exotic-flavored potato chips, among which the 'Bak Kut Teh flavor' packaging design has been flagged by Malaysian netizens as 'inappropriate', with some even claiming the design 'could cause public outrage among Malaysians.'
Netizens listed three issues with the packaging design, as follows:
First, combining elements of traditional Malay attire with Bak Kut Teh is seen as ignoring the sensitivity of Muslims not eating pork and the concept of halal culture;
Second, featuring coriander as an ingredient with Bak Kut Teh was teased as 'as unacceptable as adding taro to hotpot';
Third, adding the Singapore Merlion to the packaging is viewed as confusing Malaysian Bak Kut Teh with Singapore’s pepper soup culture, causing dissatisfaction among some netizens.
Some netizens even joked, 'I must defend the dignity of Bak Kut Teh!'
The post was published for less than an hour before Potato’s official account immediately responded in the comments, stating that after receiving related feedback, they had already stopped shipping last week and had disposed of the remaining packaging materials.
The official stated that moving forward, they will work with design companies to strengthen checks on cultural sensitivity and cultural accuracy to prevent similar incidents from occurring again.
The original poster later responded: 'Thank you, admin, for protecting the dignity of Bak Kut Teh,' and expressed hope that the product could 'return with new packaging in the future.'
The incident has also sparked a large amount of online discussion, with many joking that 'the first edition packaging is now a limited collector’s item.' Others noted that if only 'Bak Kut Teh' is used as the theme, while combining symbols from various countries, it can indeed cause confusion.