Buffalo flavor is hotter than hot.

The move toward the spicy, hot, pepper-laden flavoring that first took root years ago on chicken wings in Buffalo, N.Y., is showing up in gobs of other new products at fast-food joints and grocery stores.

Subway rolled out a Buffalo Chicken sub last week. Wendy's recently introduced Bold Buffalo Boneless Wings. Procter & Gamble recently extended Buffalo flavoring to more Pringles chips, and Kraft is in the mix with a Buffalo-style pizza for its South Beach Living line of low-calorie foods.

Last year, a record 47 new products with the term "Buffalo" in their names showed up in the nation's supermarkets, the research specialist Datamonitor reports. Through mid-September, an additional 28 more had hit the shelves this year.

Key to the growth in popularity of Buffalo flavoring: It has lots of flavor and almost no nutritional negatives. The flavoring isn't high in fat, sodium or calories. It's often used to give otherwise-bland do-gooder products a needed extra kick.

"It's good for taking consumers' minds and tastebuds off the fact that some products may be cutting fat, calories and even portion sizes," says Tom Vierhile, the director of product launch analytics at Datamonitor.

The aging population is another big driver, says Tony Pace, who oversees Subway's consumer marketing arm. "Aging palates like spicier stuff," he added.

It's no coincidence that more Buffalo products are arriving as the weather cools. "People like fuller-flavored stuff this time of year," says Pace of Subway, whose limited-time Buffalo Chicken Sandwich is selling for $5 as a foot-long.

Among other big names in the Buffalo stampede:

* Wendy's. The fast-food chain began selling Bold Buffalo Boneless Wings over the summer, and sales were so good the first week "it set a record for company restaurants," spokesman Denny Lynch says.

* P&G. The original Buffalo-flavored Pringles proved so popular that P&G is launching a second product, says Bryan Hamilton, the Pringles brand manager for North America.

Rolling out now are Buffalo-flavored Pringles Bold Bites, a thicker crisp than the Buffalo-flavored Pringles Extreme introduced several years ago.

* Kraft. The nation's biggest food maker added Buffalo Style Chicken Pizza to its South Beach Living diet line last year.

* Campbell's. The most popular Web recipe for Campbell's in January was its Frank's RedHot Buffalo Chicken Dip, giving a Buffalo spin to the company's Swanson Premium Chicken.

The recipe grew so popular - with 300,000 unique visitors in three months - that it now has its own Web site: www.buffalochickendip.com.