Lion’s share: Walkers dominates sharing NPD

One of our 10 Things You Need To Know About… Snacking

Sharing bags are storming ahead as big bags of crisps and snacks rack up an additional £19.7m [Kantar Worldpanel 52 w/e 29 Jan 2017].

“This is due to a combination of factors including promotional activity, NPD and more consumption opportunities,” says Andrew Slamin, Kettle Foods marketing director, Kettle Foods. “Sharing occasions are increasingly important, thanks to the popularity of the Big Night In, for example, and within the total UK market sharing is the only category in growth.”

Kettle’s value sales saw a 2.3% rise thanks, in part, to sharing [IRI 52 w/e 27 February 2017]. But Walkers ruled the roost. It secured the top three spots in Kantar’s rundown of the top 10 sharing NPD in 2016. Find out what they are below.

Bugles – £7.5m*

Bugles hit the UK snacks market in April 2016, having found success in Europe and North America. It rolled out with three flavours – Cheese, Sour Cream & Black Pepper and Southern Style BBQ, with the latter accounting for nearly half of the sales.

“Bugles brings mischievous family fun into the savoury snacking category by encouraging families as well as retailers to embrace their playful side,” says Thomas Barkholt, UK marketing director at PepsiCo. “The brand’s success can be attributed to its exciting personality and allowing shoppers to have fun with the product by creating everything from finger puppets and fangs.”

Doritos A vs B – £3.3m*

Doritos asked consumers to vote to axe one of its new flavours – either Sizzling Salsa or Ultimate Cheeseburger – in summer 2016. To encourage consumers to get involved, Doritos offered a £20,000 prize to the person who came up with the most inventive way to destroy the losing flavour.

Salsa ultimately won, with the Cheeseburger variant being destroyed in a short animated video, which saw pigeons shooting packs out of the sky.

MixUps Meaty – £2.2m*

Walkers added to its popular MixUps range in early 2016 with a new Meaty variant, featuring meat flavoured Doritos, Monster Munch, French Fries and Wotsits.

“After the successful introduction of Walkers Mix Ups in 2015, the new meaty addition has been well received by shoppers,” adds Barkholt. “The pack consists of the nation’s firm favourites of Walkers snacks – appealing to a wide range of shoppers.”

*:Total take home sales (Kantar Worldpanel 52 w/e 29 January 2017)

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