Pop Culture dictionary

Takis

tahk-ees ]

What are Takis?

Takis are a brand of corn chips distributed by Mexican snack-food maker Barcel. It has a distinctive rolled appearance, similar to a taquito, and is extremely popular due to its variety of flavors and intense heat.

Related words

fuego, cheeze, Cheetle, guilty pleasure

Where does Takis come from?

While the Mexican-based company Barcel dates back decades, Takis debuted in the US in the early 2000s. Their shape (and name) is modeled after the taquito, a rolled tortilla stuffed with cheesy and meaty goodness.

Similarly delicious in heat and crunch to Flamin’ Hot Cheetos, Takis really found their niche when Hostess went under in 2012. Convenience stores saw empty shelf space where Twinkies and Sno-Balls once found their home. Takis swooped in and filled the gap.

Since then, Takis saw its distribution spread in the US, though particularly in places with large Hispanic populations. The snack comes in a variety of flavors, with Fuego (hot chili pepper and lime) particularly popular. There’s also Nitro (habanero, lime, and cucumber), and guacamole.

In June 2013, an anonymous article on the internet claimed that “doctors” linked chemicals in Takis to stomach ulcers and colon cancer in children. This was disproved by the myth-busters at Snopes, who noted that though spicy foods like Takis can cause stomach pain (and too much junk food is always a no-no), they’re definitely not opening holes up in children’s stomachs.

Examples of Takis

Takis are better than hot cheetos. Don't even @me

@vigil_taylor, September 8, 2017

why do y'all reduce Mexican culture to tajin, conchas, and takis when there's so much food out there to be proud of

@ASAPpaola, July 16, 2018
Crunched up Takis, it seems, makes a great chicken breading. The sliced Taki-covered chicken went into an eggroll wrapper with some cilantro, among other things.
Margaret Reist, Lincoln Journal Star, July 9, 2018
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Who uses Takis?

Though they have plenty of haters, Takis are a popular snack in the US and Mexico not only for their flavor …

… but also for their sentimental value as a childhood favorite, guilty pleasure, and sometime cultural symbol for Mexican-Americans.

Plenty of Takis-enthusiasts joke about the heat, mess, and other pains of the irresistible snack.

Just Added

Midwest nice, brat, Earth Day, yassification, ♈ Aries Emoji

Note

This is not meant to be a formal definition of Takis like most terms we define on Dictionary.com, but is rather an informal word summary that hopefully touches upon the key aspects of the meaning and usage of Takis that will help our users expand their word mastery.