PepsiCo is teaming up with England cricketer Monty Panesar to launch its first bespoke flavour of Walkers crisps targeting the UK's growing south Asian communities.

Walkers Chilli & Lemon flavour has been developed specifically to appeal to the tastes of Pakistani, Bangladeshi and Indian consumers, who make up the UK's biggest ethnic market, and to broaden the brand's consumer base.

A marketing campaign fronted by Panesar, England's first Sikh cricketer, will support the launch and focus on the south Asian community's love of cricket, said PepsiCo.

"This is our first flavour developed for the tastes of the Asian market," said Jon Goldstone, vice president of marketing at Walkers. "Chilli & Lemon is already a favourite within the Asian community, which is why we opted to add this variant to the Walkers brand."

The new variety is aimed primarily at the Asian community, but Goldstone said it would also appeal to Walkers' core consumers and meet the demand for spicy-flavoured snacks.

It will come in the new packaging unveiled last month by PepsiCo featuring the evolution of a potato into a crisp, along with 'foodie' shots of chillies and sliced lemons.

The packs will carry motifs created to appeal to the Asian community, including a henna design. A new flash will appear in English and Hindi.

During the campaign, Panesar will appear at events and cricket matches across the UK at which consumers will be able to sample the new flavour.

"Monty Panesar is this summer's cricket hero and his involvement will help us get the message across to our target audience," said Goldstone.

As part of the campaign, ads will run Asian radio station Sunrise Radio and the brand will also be on show at the Asian Lifestyle Show, which starts today (Saturday).

The flavour will initially be available in Bestway and Asda in six-bag multipacks and standard 30g bags but they will be rolled out across the trade later.

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