Walkers is stepping up the battle in the dipping arena by adding a new Latinos variant to its Doritos tortilla range.
The move comes as rival Procter & Gamble lays down the gauntlet to Walkers by throwing its successful Pringles brand, Britain’s second bestselling snack behind the standard Walkers range, into the dipping arena with a new Dippers range of snacks and dips (The Grocer, January 24, p59).
Rolling out from this month, the new Latinos range, which features bell-shaped tortillas already popular in Turkey and Australia, is made from a different type of maize to offer a slightly lighter eat than standard Doritos. The newcomer is
particularly aimed at attracting new fans for the £70m Doritos brand (The Grocer Top Products Survey 2003).
A £1.5m TV campaign to support Latinos - which come in Chargrilled BBQ, Mexican
Grill and Sour Cream & Sweet Pepper flavours - will break in June and the company said it was looking to sign up a new icon to push the Doritos portfolio. Rsp for standard 40g impulse bags of Latinos, not available in Mexican Grill, will be 27p, while larger 175g sharing bags will retail for £1.24. A Latinos Smooth Red Pepper and Tomato Dip accompanying the range will cost £1.34 for a 326g jar. A £250,000 sampling campaign to back the new range is also planned.
Trade marketing manager Nicky Seal said: “We know there is still a huge untapped market opportunity in the premium evening snacking occasion.”
Meanwhile, Walkers’ new Sensations Poppadom Bites (The Grocer, January 10, p62) finally arrive on shelves next week. A £3.5m campaign, including TV ads starring Sensations brand ambassador Tara Palmer-Tomkinson, breaks next month.
Simon Mowbray