Ready salted still the nation's favourite crisp
Traditional potato crisps still dominate the savoury snack sector as Brits look to them as comfort food
Alex Black
Ready salted are still the UK’s favourite crisp flavour despite the ‘vast array’ of flavours in the crisp aisles.
Innovation has led to an explosion of flavours in the crisp sector, with more than 400 now on offer to consumers.
But AHDB research revealed ready salted was still the nation’s favourite, with a quarter of volume and spend sales on salted varieties.
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According to Mintel, crisps are Britain’s favourite savoury snack with seven in 10 of us admitting their ‘addictive moreish-ness’ and claiming they provoke feelings of nostalgia.
Kantar data showed 93 per cent of households purchase crisps, with sales reaching almost £950 million last year.
Flavour sales by volume
- Salted: 25 per cent
- Cheese and onion: 16 per cent
- Meaty: 18 per cent
- Salt and vinegar: 9 per cent
- Chili: 4 per cent
- Prawn: 2 per cent
Source: Kantar – Crisp flavours – 52 w/e June 16 2019
They were the UK’s third overall favourite snack, behind chocolate and fruit.
Potato sales
Crisps also played an important role in the potato markets, accounting for 27 per cent of potato value sales but only 7 per cent of volume sales.
Grace Randall, AHDB consumer insight analyst and author of the report, said: “Despite new flavours making up a quarter of all crisp flavours, they only account for 2.5 per cent of volume sales.
“In fact 70 per cent of us still enjoy the same flavours we did as a child. For new products it appears consumers are enticed by form – not flavour.”
She added innovation meant consumers had a wide range of new products to choose from such as popcorn, pea and lentil crisps and rice cakes.
“This has led to potato crisps losing volume sales, five per cent over the last year according to Kantar.
“But traditional potato crisps still dominate the sector due to consumer’s love affair with them, 70 per cent of us consider them as comfort food - evident in the 22 per cent rise in ‘sharing’ bag volume sales over the past 5 years.”
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