Walkers launches its first non-HFSS crisps range with ‘half the salt’

Walkers is launching a new non-HFSS crisps range with “nearly half the salt” of its standard offering.

Simply called ‘45% Less Salt’, the range will debut with three flavours: Mild Cheese & Onion, Lightly Salted and A Dash of Salt & Vinegar.

It is the crisps giant’s first fully non-HFSS range.

Containing “nearly half the salt” of its hero lines, the snacks maintained “the great flavour that Walkers is known for”, it said.

All three flavours will launch this month in 6x25g multipacks (rsp: £1.75). Mild Cheese & Onion and Lightly Salted will also be available in 45g grab bags (rsp: 85p).

Walkers claimed the snacks had “performed strongly in consumer taste-testing”, with eight out of 10 consumers stating Mild Cheese and Onion “exceeded expectations”.

Consumers were “increasingly looking for great-tasting lower salt snacks”, said the brand, adding that eating less salt was important to 79% of people surveyed.

“We firmly believe this choice should never come at the expense of delicious flavour and with our new range, we’re on a mission to prove that less salt is unexpectedly tasty,” said Walkers senior marketing manager Rachael Smith.

“Our latest launch answers the demands of shoppers, whilst helping retailers to capitalise on a growing consumer trend,” she added.

The launch will be supported with a multimillion-pound campaign across in-store activations, TV and digital advertising.

It comes as other crisps and snacks brands are scrabbling to reformulate products in the run-up to the government’s HFSS clampdown.

In January, Tyrrells boosted its range of non-HFSS crisps with a new Mediterranean Herb flavour.

Emily Veg Thins and Eat Real were both relaunched with reformulated recipes last year in anticipation of the clampdowns.

Snack a Jacks, too, was overhauled by owner PepsiCo with a new look and reformulations to make it non-HFSS.

Simply Roasted, meanwhile, debuted a range of non-HFSS crisps made with a proprietary process using three different ovens to remove the moisture from potatoes before seasoning and bagging.