Walkers is planning to stretch its Sensations brand into new territory with three varieties of poppadoms.
Set for launch in the spring, the new offerings are lighter than restaurant poppadoms and have been adapted for snacking.
Their arrival follows the brand’s move into Far Eastern flavours, with new Cantonese Blackbean and Spring Onion flavour Oriental Crackers on shelf now, available in 100g bags for evening snacking (rsp: £1.29) and a 40p, 24g impulse bag.
The newcomer will be backed by five-week ad campaign starring renowned ‘toff’ Tara Palmer-Tomkinson, due to break next week.
The brand is booming, with figures from The Grocer’s Top Products Survey 2003 showing a rise from 13th to 3rd place in the bagged snacks category, with sales up by 153% to £88.5m.
“It has stolen share from other sharing offers such as Phileas Fogg and Kettle Chips,” said a buyer for one multiple.
She predicted that Sensations’ move into poppadoms would be an intelligent one. “It is likely to carry whatever type of flavour because its target eating occasion is growing,” she added. “Ethnic snacks are a strong area and the big snack brands have yet to go down this route.”
Mary Carmichael