Snack giant Walkers has announced almost a third of its sales are now from “heathier” products.
The company said it was halfway towards its goal, set a year ago, for 50% of its sales to come either from non-HFSS snacks or portions of 100 calories or fewer.
Figures released this week show 15% of overall Walkers’ sales now came from non-HFSS snacks, and a further 15% from portions with the target number of calories.
A major step towards the progress was the launch of Walkers 45% Less Salt, the company’s first potato crisp to not be classified as high in fat, salt or sugar, which launched last year.
It is now estimated to be consumed by one in six households, with sales over £30m. New products such as 45% less salt prawn cocktail are already on the market, with more to come.
Reformulation
Walkers’ announcement comes after figures compiled by Kantar for the FDF last month showed FDF members contributed 13% fewer calories, 15% fewer sugars and 24% less salt to the average shopping basket than they did eight years ago, as a result of reformulation efforts.
“Walkers has long been a leader in the development of healthier snacks, and last year we stepped up our efforts, setting our boldest ambition yet,” said PepsiCo UK & Ireland general manager Jason Richards.
“I’m immensely proud of how far we’ve come in a year by reshaping our portfolio,” he said. “We’ve done this through a combination of innovation with new products such as Walkers’ 45% Less Salt and Popworks, reformulation of established family favourites Walkers Baked and Doritos Dippers, and offering a broader range of our most loved brands in portions of under 100 calories or less.
“This shows there’s an increasing appetite for healthier choices in the UK. Our R&D team in Leicester has met this demand for healthier choices without compromising on our trademark taste and quality. We know there’s more work to do, and we remain confident that we can reach our ambition, dramatically shifting our snacks portfolio towards healthier alternatives.”
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