Kettle Chips has axed the 150g packs of its Ridge Cut crisps, leaving the range with just one SKU as part of a rationalisation of the brand’s wider portfolio.
The sharing bags disappeared from high street supermarkets late last month, with Asda the last to sell through its stock. Sainsbury’s and Waitrose dropped the crisps in the summer, following Kettle’s “pack and price project” that kicked off last Christmas. It aimed to hold the brand’s prices steady while avoiding the need for shrinkflation, and “to construct the most efficient and differentiated range for our retailers” said Kizzy Lilburne, senior brand manager for Kettle Chips.
While Ridge Cut’s 150g format had been “a good seller”, it had been dropped by Kettle “to support our retailers in their drive to rationalise and focus on the SKUs driving the highest level of incrementality”, Lilburne added. “We had a lot of seasoning duplication against our flat crisps, so we took it out to give our highly incremental bestsellers and innovation more focus.”
The Ridge Cut range, which launched in early 2010, now comprises a single SKU, 40g Flame Steak, which will relaunch in the spring with a new look and an improved recipe.
There would be no direct replacement for the axed lines, said Lilburne. However, Kettle’s pricing project had led to “several innovations” including a 250g bag for its standard crisps, which would offer “a better £/kg and drive average weight of purchase”.
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