Crisps are in 40% of lunchboxes, and manufacturers have risen to the challenge of making them healthier for children
Forty per cent of lunchboxes contain crisps, according to TNS, and crisps and snacks suppliers have been pulling out all the stops to make their products healthier and more appealing to consumers, in particular to mums buying for themselves and their kids.
This boils down to a change in the type of cooking oil used and a reduction in salt.
Walkers, the bestselling crisps in the UK, are now cooked in a blend of vegetable oil and high oleic sunflower oil so they contain 30% less saturated fat than they did in 2003. This will be reduced further next year, making a total saturated fat reduction of 50% since 2003.
And all of United Biscuits’ crisps and snacks now use oils that are free from trans fatty acids. Skips, for instance, was relaunched this year with an on-pack nutritional promise: gluten free, no monosodium glutamate, and fewer than 100 calories per pack. Perennial lunchbox favourite Hula Hoops is now available in
Shake 2 Salt packs, with the salt in a separate sachet.
Aside from recipe changes, there has also been a wave of new products.
One of the most successful so far is Walkers’ Potato Heads, which contain no artificial flavours, colours or preservatives, and are cooked in high oleic sunflower oil and have 70% less saturated fat.
The brand seems to be hitting the right note with mothers, as after just three months on the market, Potato Heads ready salted and cheese & onion flavours are in the top 25 selling snack brands in impulse, while in the grocery channel, assorted six-pack sales have equalled those of the bestselling Walkers 24-pack.
As for the future of crisps and snacks, expect the health trend to continue. Claire Nuttall, director of consumer brands at brand agency Dragon, says retailers need to look across the Atlantic for guidance: “Given the whole obesity crisis there has been an influx of new brands launched in the US around the whole concept of 100-calorie bags. This is also now being looked at in the crisp and snack industry in the UK.
“This might be fine for adults but it would be interesting to see if parents would adopt a calorie management approach for their kids.”
Forty per cent of lunchboxes contain crisps, according to TNS, and crisps and snacks suppliers have been pulling out all the stops to make their products healthier and more appealing to consumers, in particular to mums buying for themselves and their kids.
This boils down to a change in the type of cooking oil used and a reduction in salt.
Walkers, the bestselling crisps in the UK, are now cooked in a blend of vegetable oil and high oleic sunflower oil so they contain 30% less saturated fat than they did in 2003. This will be reduced further next year, making a total saturated fat reduction of 50% since 2003.
And all of United Biscuits’ crisps and snacks now use oils that are free from trans fatty acids. Skips, for instance, was relaunched this year with an on-pack nutritional promise: gluten free, no monosodium glutamate, and fewer than 100 calories per pack. Perennial lunchbox favourite Hula Hoops is now available in
Shake 2 Salt packs, with the salt in a separate sachet.
Aside from recipe changes, there has also been a wave of new products.
One of the most successful so far is Walkers’ Potato Heads, which contain no artificial flavours, colours or preservatives, and are cooked in high oleic sunflower oil and have 70% less saturated fat.
The brand seems to be hitting the right note with mothers, as after just three months on the market, Potato Heads ready salted and cheese & onion flavours are in the top 25 selling snack brands in impulse, while in the grocery channel, assorted six-pack sales have equalled those of the bestselling Walkers 24-pack.
As for the future of crisps and snacks, expect the health trend to continue. Claire Nuttall, director of consumer brands at brand agency Dragon, says retailers need to look across the Atlantic for guidance: “Given the whole obesity crisis there has been an influx of new brands launched in the US around the whole concept of 100-calorie bags. This is also now being looked at in the crisp and snack industry in the UK.
“This might be fine for adults but it would be interesting to see if parents would adopt a calorie management approach for their kids.”
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