Walkers (snack foods)
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| Type | Subsidiary of PepsiCo |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1880s |
| Headquarters |  Leicester, England, UK |
| Industry | Snacks |
| Products | See below |
| Parent | Frito-Lay |
Walkers is a British snack food manufacturer operating mainly in the United Kingdom and Ireland and to a lesser extent on the European continent. They are best known for manufacturing crisps.
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[edit] History
In the 1880s Henry Walker moved from Mansfield to Leicester to take over an established butcher's shop in the high street. Meat rationing after World War II saw the factory output drop dramatically and the company looked at alternatives to make use of the wasted capacity. With potato crisps being increasingly popular with the public, managing director R.E. Gerrard helped the company shift focus and began hand-slicing and frying potatoes.
[edit] Present day
Walkers is now owned by Frito-Lay, which in turn is a subsidiary of PepsiCo, with the current logo a derivative of the North American Lay's logo. The company is still a significant presence in Leicester and sponsor Leicester City football team's stadium, the Walkers Stadium. Gary Lineker, formerly a Leicester City footballer, is now the face of the company, starring in most of their advertising campaigns. The official website states that an estimated "11 million people will eat a Walkers product every day". The company employs over 4000 people in 15 locations.
In 2000, Walkers 1995 advert starring Gary Lineker was named the ninth best television commercial of all time, in a poll conducted by The Sunday Times and Channel 4.
In February 2006 Walkers changed their brand label and typeset. They also announced they were to reduce the saturated fat in their crisps by 70%.[1] They started frying their crisps in SunSeed oil, a variety of sunflower oil, claiming the oil's higher monounsaturated fat content made it healthier than the sunflower oil which they used previously.[2] They once again changed their packaging style in June 2007, rather similar to the logo used from 1998–2006.
Nutrition information has appeared on the front of Walkers crisps packets since 2006.
Many of Walkers brands were formerly branded under the Smiths Crisps name. This comes from the time when Walkers, Smiths and Tudor Crisps were the three main brands of Nabisco's UK snack division with Tudor being marketed mainly in the north of England and Walkers in the south. After the takeover by Pepsico the Tudor name was dropped and the Smiths brand has gradually been phased out in favour of Walkers.
The only products currently retaining the Smiths brand are Salt 'n' Shake, Salt & Vinegar and Ready Salted Chipsticks, Frazzles and the "Savoury Selection", which includes Bacon Flavour Fries, Scampi Flavour Fries and Cheese Flavoured Moments.
In 1997, Walkers became the brand name of the Quavers and Monster Munch snacks.
In 2002 Walkers bought Wotsits from Golden Wonder.
In 2007 Walkers launched Sunbites, a range of crisps made using wholegrains.[3]
In July 2008 Walkers launched its "Do Us A Flavour" campaign, challenging members of the public to think up a unique flavour of crisp. In January 2009 six flavours were picked and released as special editions, available until May 2009. During this period, consumers could vote on their favourite and the winner would become a permanent flavour. The winner of the competition was Builders Breakfast by Emma Rushin from Belper in Derbyshire.[4]
Notably, Walkers package their cheese and onion crisps in blue packets, and salt and vinegar in green. This is the opposite livery to most other UK crisp manufacturers, such as McCoys Crisps and Golden Wonder.
[edit] Product lines
[edit] Current Flavours (Packet Colours)
- BBQ Rib (Black)
- Cheddar Cheese (Orange)
- Cheese & Onion (Blue)
- Chilli & Lemon (Yellow/Red)
- Lamb and Mint (Dark Green)
- Marmite (Yellow/Black)
- Pickled Onion (Lime Green)
- Ploughman's (Dark Green)[5]
- Prawn Cocktail (Pink)
- Ready Salted (Red)
- Roast Chicken (Orange)
- Roast Gammon (Dark Pink)[5]
- Salt & Vinegar (Green)
- Smoky Bacon (Maroon)
- Steak & Onion (Brown)
- Sweet Cumberland Sausage (Dark Gold)[5]
- Builders Breakfast (Winner of Do Us A Flavour) (Red Ribbon)
- Tomato Ketchup (Dark Green and Red)
- Worcester Sauce (Purple)
[edit] Withdrawn Flavours (Packet Colours)
- Chilli & Chocolate (Nominee of Do Us A Flavour - 6th place) (Brown Ribbon)
- Cajun Squirrel (Nominee of Do Us A Flavour - 5th place) (Green Ribbon)
- Crispy Duck and Hoisin (Nominee of Do Us A Flavour - 4th place) (Purple Ribbon)
- Fish and Chips (Nominee of Do Us A Flavour - 3rd place) (Orange Ribbon)
- Onion Bhaji (Nominee of Do Us A Flavour - 2nd place) (Blue Ribbon)
[edit] Variations
- Lights (formerly Lites) (Low fat)
- Salt and Vinegar
- Cheese and Onion
- Simply Salted (Ready Salted)
- Roast Chicken
- Sour Cream and Chive
- Potato Heads (Low fat with no artificial colours/flavourings/preservatives) (Discontinued in 2008[6])
- Prawn Cocktail
- Cheese and Onion
- Ready Salted
- Roasted Chicken
- Salt and Vinegar
- Cheese Heads (Similar to Potato Heads)
- Baked
- Cheese & Onion
- Ready Salted
- Salt & Vinegar
- Sour Cream & Onion (Limited Edition)
- Bacon & Cheddar
- Max
- Cheese and Onion
- Chargrilled Steak
- Paprika
- Salt 'n' Shake
- Original
- Sensations
From launch the flavours have changed in 2006 and again 2009. Current flavours are:-
-
- Thai Sweet Chilli
- Roasted Chicken & Thyme
- Vintage Cheddar & Onion Chutney
- Balsamic Vinegar & Caramelised Onion
- Southern Style Barbeque
- Buffalo Mozzarella & Herbs
- Oriental Red Curry
2006 Re-Brand Flavors:-
The Original Launch Flavours:-
[edit] Pack sizes
5 common pack sizes.
- 34.5g standard bags
- 25g "multipack" bags
- 50g (formerly 55g) "Big Eat" bags, produced primarily for the pub trade
- 80g "Grab Bag" bags, mainly sold in cinemas and entertainment establishments
- 100g bags(Sensations only, now replaced with the 95g bag)
- 150g big bags (limited flavours)
- 300g sharing bag (Sensations only)
The 50g bag size for the pub trade was produced following a survey by Walkers regarding the average size of a social group in a pub, and the average number of crisps people would take when a bag was passed around; on average, the purchaser should be left with the same weight of crisps in their Big Eat bag after passing it around their friends as would be found in a standard 34.5g pack.
[edit] Other types of snack food
- Chipsticks
- Ready Salted
- Salt and Vinegar
- Doritos
- Cool Original
- Smoky Bacon
- Tangy Cheese
- Chili Heatwave
- Flamin' Cheeseball
- Dippas Lightly Salted
- Dippas Hint Of Lime
- Collisions: T-bone steak & Green pepper
- Collisions: Chicken & Zesty salsa
- French Fries
- Cheese and Onion
- Salt and Vinegar
- Ready Salted
- Worcester Sauce
- Frazzles
- Bacon
- Squares
- Ready Salted
- Cheese and Onion
- Salt and Vinegar
- Quavers
- Cheese
- Prawn Cocktail (multipack only)
- Salt and Vinegar (multipack only)
- Monster Munch
- Pickled Onion
- Flamin'Hot
- Roast Beef
- Wotsits
- Cheese
- Flamin'Hot
- Prawn Cocktail (multipack only)
- Snaps
- Spicy Tomato
- Sunbites
- Original
- Sour Cream & Cracked Black Pepper
- Oven roasted Onion & Rosemary
- Sun Ripened Sweet Chilli
[edit] References
- ^ Walkers Crisps - Better for you | less saturated fat
- ^ "All about SUNSEED oil". http://www.walkers-crisps.co.uk/sunseed_oil.html. Retrieved on 2008-05-06.
- ^ Sunbites website
- ^ "Squirrel-flavoured crisps go on sale in UK". Metro.co.uk. 2008-01-09. http://www.metro.co.uk/weird/article.html?Squirrel-flavoured_crisps_go_on_sale_in_UK&in_article_id=468192&in_page_id=2. Retrieved on 2009-01-26.
- ^ a b c "Walkers to spend record £27m on marketing this year". Talkingretail.com. Metropolis Business Publishing. 2008-01-11. http://www.talkingretail.com/products/product-news/8133-walkers-to-spend-record-27m-on-marketing-this-year.html. Retrieved on 2009-01-25.
- ^ "Walkers abandons Potato Heads line". http://www.brandrepublic.com/News/779774/Walkers-abandons-Potato-Heads-line. Retrieved on 2009-01-26.
