In this paper we review the current knowledge on the structuring via bubble expansion of starchy snacks, which are formulated on the basis of potato ingredients. These snacks are rarely discussed in scientific literature, but there are a scant number of patents dealing with various formulations and process descriptions. The general trends in the snack processing, we have described in a formal way using the Complex Dispersed Systems notation, augmented with a depiction of the processing pathway in the supplemented state diagram of starch. With this general framework in mind, we have compared the information given in the patents with scientific literature on cereal-based snacks. Based on this comparison we have formulated hypotheses about the functionality of the various ingredients with respect to the structuring of the potato snacks. (C) 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.