One Chip Challenge
A Paqui-branded extreme-spice tortilla chip challenge that became a viral social-media phenomenon before being withdrawn and discontinued in 2023.
Last updated August 31, 2026
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Overview
The One Chip Challenge was a promotional food challenge built around eating a single tortilla chip seasoned with exceptionally hot peppers, principally the Carolina Reaper. Participants were encouraged to record themselves consuming the chip and then to avoid eating or drinking anything for a specified period. Paqui presented the activity as a test of endurance, using competitive labels that ranged from short survival times to an hour without relief. The product was generally sold as one individually wrapped chip in distinctive, challenge-oriented packaging, including a coffin-shaped box. The concept originated with Amplify Snack Brands, the owner of Paqui, in 2016 under the earlier name Carolina Reaper Madness. The initial product focused on the Carolina Reaper, then widely promoted as the world’s hottest chili pepper. As interest grew, the company linked participation to social-media posts, prize promotions, and a digital Wall of Infamy. Later versions changed the pepper blend and the marketing language. The 2020 edition added Scorpion Pepper and Sichuan pepper alongside Carolina Reaper. Subsequent editions altered the challenge scale and packaging, while the 2022 product used blue food coloring that visibly colored participants’ tongues. The final edition incorporated Naga Viper pepper and adopted a snake-themed presentation. The challenge’s popularity was driven by online video culture and by participation from celebrities, athletes, media personalities, and ordinary consumers. Public figures reported to have tried it included Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Shaquille O’Neal, Joel Embiid, Lil Yachty, and Sean Evans. The format also generated criticism because its entertainment value depended on intense physical discomfort and because children and teenagers participated despite warnings. Schools and emergency responders in several American communities reported incidents involving students who became ill or required medical attention. Paqui’s packaging and website warned that the product was intended for adults and should not be consumed by children, people with sensitivities or allergies, pregnant people, or those with medical risks. Those warnings did not prevent youth participation or broader concern about the effects of concentrated capsaicin. In September 2023, Harris Wolobah, a 14-year-old from Worcester, Massachusetts, became severely ill after eating the chip and died several hours later. An autopsy report made public in 2024 attributed the death to cardiopulmonary arrest in the setting of recent ingestion of a high-capsaicin food substance and also identified cardiomegaly and a congenital heart defect. Following Wolobah’s death, Paqui removed promotional material and online purchasing and store-locator pages, asked retailers to take the product off shelves, and offered refunds. The company then ended the One Chip Challenge and stopped related promotion. The episode intensified public and medical scrutiny of extreme-capsaicin products, especially their marketing to or accessibility for minors. The challenge is therefore best understood both as a discontinued snack promotion and as a notable internet-challenge case involving viral marketing, consumer-safety concerns, school restrictions, product withdrawal, and litigation.
History
The One Chip Challenge emerged from Paqui’s extreme-spice product line and from the growing popularity of online food stunts. Paqui was founded in Austin in 2008 by Doug Lyon and Alissa Bassana. SkinnyPop acquired the brand in 2015, and SkinnyPop later operated as Amplify Snack Brands. The Hershey Company acquired Amplify in 2017, making Paqui part of Hershey’s snack portfolio. Amplify first promoted the relevant product in 2016 as Carolina Reaper Madness. The chip used Carolina Reaper pepper, a variety developed by Ed Currie and promoted at the time as the world’s hottest chili pepper. Early promotion emphasized scarcity and social sharing. In October 2017, Amplify introduced a contest offering participants a one-in-ten chance to win a Carolina Reaper-related prize, a year’s supply of Paqui chips, and a custom neon sign if they posted a photograph or video to Instagram or Twitter. After the contest ended in early 2018, Paqui published a Wall of Infamy featuring participants who completed the stunt. A similar promotion ran in late 2019 and ended in February 2020. In September 2020, the promotion was formalized as the One Chip Challenge. The chip was sold individually in a coffin-shaped package, with Scorpion Pepper and Sichuan pepper added to the Carolina Reaper seasoning. Participants were asked to eat the entire chip and refrain from food or drink afterward. Paqui’s digital challenge scale measured endurance from five minutes to one hour, with increasingly dramatic labels. The company also added explicit warnings that children and people who were sensitive, allergic, pregnant, or medically at risk should not consume the product. The challenge returned in 2021 and 2022. Its branding and endurance terminology changed from year to year, moving toward themes such as being powerless, invincible, or owned. In 2022, blue food coloring was used to make participants’ tongues turn bright blue, reinforcing the video spectacle and making it more difficult to pretend that the chip had been consumed. The final version, released in 2023 before withdrawal, used Carolina Reaper and Naga Viper peppers and adopted a snake-related visual and verbal theme. Celebrity participation helped the challenge spread beyond Paqui’s own marketing. Reported participants included Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Shaquille O’Neal, Joel Embiid, Lil Yachty, and Sean Evans. The stunt also appeared in television and social-media contexts, including an incident in which a Denver television anchor vomited during a live broadcast after trying the chip. In another widely criticized episode, King Harris offered money to a homeless man to attempt the challenge but paid less than the amount initially offered after the man could not complete it. Health concerns became increasingly prominent. Although Paqui’s warnings specified adults and highlighted medical risks, children and teenagers continued to participate. Schools in several states restricted or banned the challenge after students experienced severe discomfort or required medical attention. In September 2023, Harris Wolobah, a 14-year-old in Worcester, Massachusetts, ate the chip, later complained of severe stomach pain, and died within hours. Paqui removed promotional wording and sales information, requested that retailers retrieve remaining stock, and offered refunds. The company permanently ended the One Chip Challenge and related publicity. An autopsy report released in 2024 described cardiopulmonary arrest in the context of consuming a high-capsaicin substance and identified cardiomegaly and a congenital heart defect. The death prompted renewed discussion among physicians, chili breeders, schools, regulators, retailers, and consumer advocates about concentrated capsaicin, warning labels, youth access, and the ethics of marketing dangerous-feeling products as entertainment. A wrongful-death lawsuit was subsequently filed by Wolobah’s family against Walgreens, Hershey, Paqui, and Amplify Snack Brands. The One Chip Challenge remains a prominent example of a snack product whose viral marketing strategy became inseparable from product-safety and liability controversies.
- 2024
Autopsy findings intensify safety scrutiny
[1]A released autopsy report described cardiopulmonary arrest associated with ingestion of a high-capsaicin food substance and documented underlying cardiac abnormalities.
- 2023
Challenge discontinued after a consumer death
[1]Following the death of Harris Wolobah, Paqui withdrew the chip from retailers, offered refunds, removed promotional materials, and ended the challenge.
- 2022
Blue tongue-coloring edition appears
[1]The 2022 edition used blue food coloring so participants’ tongues would visibly change color after eating the chip.
- 2020
The One Chip Challenge is formalized
[1]The product was marketed as a single-chip endurance challenge in a coffin-shaped package, with additional hot peppers and a five-minute-to-one-hour endurance scale.
- 2017
The Hershey Company acquires Amplify Snack Brands
[1]Hershey acquired Amplify, placing Paqui and its developing extreme-spice promotions within Hershey’s snack business.
- 2017
Social-media prize promotion expands participation
[1]A promotion offered participants a chance to win Carolina Reaper-related prizes and Paqui products by posting challenge content to social platforms.
- 2016
Carolina Reaper Madness launches
[1]Amplify began promoting an extreme-spice Carolina Reaper chip under the Carolina Reaper Madness name, the precursor to the One Chip Challenge.
- 2015
SkinnyPop acquires Paqui
[1]SkinnyPop acquired Paqui, bringing the tortilla-chip brand into the corporate structure that later became Amplify Snack Brands.
- 2008
Paqui is founded
[1]Doug Lyon and Alissa Bassana founded Paqui in Austin, Texas, establishing the brand that later developed the One Chip Challenge.
Products and positioning
An extreme-spice endurance stunt and viral social-media promotion centered on a single tortilla chip.
Extreme-spice tortilla chip · 2020
One Chip Challenge
A single individually wrapped tortilla chip marketed as an endurance test. Editions used Carolina Reaper seasoning, with later formulations adding peppers such as Scorpion Pepper, Sichuan pepper, and Naga Viper. Packaging and website copy encouraged participants to film themselves eating the chip and then abstain from food and drink for a set period.
Extreme-spice tortilla chip · 2016
Carolina Reaper Madness
The 2016 predecessor to the One Chip Challenge. It centered on a tortilla chip seasoned with Carolina Reaper pepper and used scarcity, social-media participation, and prize incentives to turn consumption into a public stunt.
Controversies
2023
Death of Harris Wolobah
Fourteen-year-old Harris Wolobah died several hours after eating the One Chip Challenge product. Paqui withdrew the product, stopped its promotion, and ended the challenge. The case triggered scrutiny of extreme-capsaicin products, youth access, warnings, and viral marketing.
2023
Wrongful-death litigation
Wolobah’s family filed a wrongful-death lawsuit naming Walgreens, The Hershey Company, Paqui, and Amplify Snack Brands in connection with the sale and manufacture of the product.
2022
Youth participation and school health incidents
Despite adult-only and health-risk warnings, children and teenagers participated in the challenge. Several schools reported illnesses or medical responses, leading districts in Colorado, California, Texas, and Georgia to ban or restrict the activity.
Marketing campaigns
- 2020One Chip Challenge
United States
Paqui packaged one highly spicy chip in a coffin-shaped box and encouraged participants to document how long they could avoid food and drink after eating it.
Outcome. The campaign became a recurring annual fall-season promotion and a widely circulated internet challenge.
- 2019Second Reaper challenge promotion
United States
Paqui repeated the challenge-oriented promotion, with a grand prize that included a tailgate party and a year’s supply of chips.
Outcome. The promotion ended in February 2020 before the concept shifted to the formal One Chip Challenge format.
- 2017Reaper social-media prize promotion
United States
Participants were invited to share photographs or videos of themselves consuming the Carolina Reaper chip on Instagram or Twitter for a chance to win prizes, including Paqui products and a Reaper-themed neon sign.
Outcome. The promotion contributed to the creation of a public Wall of Infamy for successful participants.
- 2016Carolina Reaper Madness
United States
Amplify introduced an extreme Carolina Reaper chip and promoted it as a highly difficult spicy-food experience, establishing the format that later became the One Chip Challenge.
Outcome. The product reportedly sold out quickly and developed an online following.
Brand decisions
2023
Withdrawal and permanent discontinuationStrategyBackground
The decision followed the death of Harris Wolobah and growing concern about medical incidents and youth participation.
Action taken
Paqui removed promotional and purchasing information, requested retailer withdrawals, offered refunds, and ended the One Chip Challenge and its publicity.
Aftermath
The product disappeared from regular sale, while public debate and litigation continued over capsaicin safety, warnings, retail access, and responsibility for viral marketing.
- Carolina Reaper breeder and pepper industry commentators — Ed Currie criticized challenge-style marketing aimed at children and called for better consumer information about the risks of concentrated capsaicin.
2020
Launch of the formal One Chip ChallengeProduct launchBackground
Earlier Carolina Reaper promotions had generated strong online attention and demand for an extreme-spice stunt.
Action taken
Paqui introduced a single-chip product in coffin-shaped packaging, added multiple hot-pepper ingredients, and created an endurance scale based on time without food or drink.
Aftermath
The format became an annual fall promotion and a major social-media food challenge.
Recent events
- 2022
Schools restrict or ban the One Chip Challenge after student illnesses[1]
Regulation · Other
Huerfano School District RE-1 in Colorado prohibited the challenge after students became ill and some required hospitalization. Schools in Lodi, California, and Pearland, Texas, also introduced restrictions, while first responders treated a student at Dunwoody High School in Georgia.
Sources2 sources
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