McCain has unveiled a potato-based snacking product which combines “the fluffiness of chips with the moreish crunch of a crisp”.
Called Vibes (rsp: £3/350g), the “game-changing” ridge-cut snacks are available in Salt & Vinegar and Firecracker Chilli.
They cook in 10 minutes in an air fryer or 20 minutes in the oven.
Both variants have rolled into Iceland as part of the retailer’s ‘Brands on Ice’ accelerator programme. They will hit Tesco, Morrisons and Sainsbury’s stores in March.
“We are thrilled to introduce McCain Vibes, a truly innovative product that redefines the snacking experience,” said McCain VP of marketing Mark Hodge.
“At McCain Foods, we want to ignite excitement back into snacking and get the nation talking about whether Vibes is a crisp or a chip.”
“We believe Vibes will delight our consumers and elevate their snacking occasions.”
In a recent LinkedIn post promoting the launch, Iceland category trading manager Adam Smith wrote: “With #AirFrying quickly becoming the UK’s preferred cooking method these products really permeate the zeitgeist!”
“To ensure a strong launch our #colleagues in store have been given product to try, discuss and review, the only way to get people talking is to get people eating! Alongside this a strong #ATL media and #social plan to make sure we reach as many customers as possible,” Smith wrote.
“A huge amount of work has gone in to getting this launch away across the total business in such a short amount of time, and demonstrates what we can achieve via the ‘Brands on Ice’ programme.”
Vibes might not be the only hybrid snacking product to be launched by McCain in 2025.
The oven chips giant applied to register the name ‘Ponuts’ as a trademark with the Intellectual Property Office in late 2024, pointing to its development of a doughnut-shaped frozen potato product.
A spokeswoman for McCain remained tight-lipped on the prospect of a potential launch when approached by The Grocer.
“As a brand we are always discussing new ideas and sometimes this includes speculative trademark applications,” she said at the time.
“When we have new products hitting the shelves, we will always let our customers know.”
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