Walkers (snack foods): Difference between revisions

| image = File:Salt-and-Vinegar.JPG

'''Walkers Snack Foods Limited''',<ref name="CompaniesHouse">{{Cite web |date=1989-01-09 |title=Walkers Snack Foods Limited overview - Find and update company information - GOV.UK |url=https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/02333074 |access-date=2023-08-13 |website=[[Companies House]] |language=en}}</ref> [[trading as]] '''Walkers''', is a British [[snack food]] manufacturer mainly operating in the UK and Ireland. The company is best known for manufacturing [[potato chip|potato crisps]] and other (non-potato-based) snack foods. In 2013, it held 56% of the British crisp market.<ref name="bbc.co.uk/food">{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/food/0/22540908|title=BBC Food: Crisps: Is classic potato losing its appeal?|date=30 May 2013|publisher=BBC|access-date=1 June 2014|archive-date=23 February 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150223174730/http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/0/22540908|url-status=live}}</ref> Walkers was founded in 1948 in [[Leicester]], England, by Henry Walker. The Walkers family sold the business in 1970 to American food producer, [[Standard Brands]].<ref name=glenn>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nz-a8jwKbq0C&dq=%22walkers+crisps%22+standard+brands&pg=PT10|title=The Best Job in the World - The PepsiCo Walkers crisp Marketing Case Study|author=Martin Glenn|isbn=9780954951801|page=06|publisher=Compton House Publishing }}</ref> In 1989, Walkers was acquired by [[PepsiCo]], owners of US snack brand [[Frito-Lay]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=PepsiCo buys former RJR Nabisco divisions|url=https://www.upi.com/Archives/1989/07/03/PepsiCo-buys-former-RJR-Nabisco-divisions/3685615441600/|access-date=8 September 2020|website=UPI|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1989/07/04/business/pepsico-to-aid-europe-sales-buys-2-british-snack-units.html|title=Pepsico, to Aid Europe Sales, Buys 2 British Snack Units|newspaper=The New York Times|date=1989}}</ref>

The Walkers factory in Leicester, the largest crisp production plant in the world, produces over 11 million bags of crisps per day, using about 800 tons of potatoes.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Dayman |first1=Ady |title=£58 million investment for world's biggest Crisp Factory |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p0fsj7dd |access-date=19 June 2024 |publisher=BBC |date=6 June 2023}}</ref><ref name="packaging-gateway.com">{{cite web |url= https://www.packaging-gateway.com/projects/walkerscrisps/ |title= Walkers Crisps Production Line, Leicester |publisher= Packaging Gateway |date= 15 June 2011 |access-date= 12 July 2012 |archive-date= 14 September 2012 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20120914030546/http://www.packaging-gateway.com/projects/walkerscrisps |url-status= live }}</ref> According to the BBC television programme ''[[Inside the Factory]]'', production of a bag of crisps takes approximately 35 minutes from the moment the raw potatoes are delivered to the factory, to the point at which finished product leaves the dispatch bay for delivery to customers.<ref>{{cite news |title=Inside the Factory. Series 2, Episode 2, Crisps (Walkers factory) |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p042mz9k |access-date=20 July 2021 |agency=BBC |date=August 2016 |archive-date=20 July 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210720130856/https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p042mz9k |url-status=live }}</ref> The company produces a variety of flavours for its crisps. The three main varieties are: Cheese and Onion (introduced in 1954), Salt and Vinegar (introduced in 1967) and Ready Salted.<ref name="Leicester"/> Other varieties include: [[Worcestershire Sauce]], Roast Chicken, [[Prawn Cocktail]], Smoky Bacon, Tomato Ketchup, and Pickled Onion.<ref>[https://www.walkers.co.uk/crisps-range/walkers-crisps “Walkers Crisps Range of Flavours”] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190209180126/https://www.walkers.co.uk/crisps-range/walkers-crisps |date=9 February 2019 }}. Walkers.co.uk. Retrieved 6 February 2019</ref>

In the 1880s, Henry Walker moved from [[Mansfield]], Nottinghamshire to [[Leicester]] to take over an established butcher's shop in the [[highHigh streetStreet]]. Meat [[Rationing in the United Kingdom|rationing in the UK after World War II]] saw the factory output drop dramatically, and so in 1948, theWalkers & companySons starting looking at alternative products. Potato crisps were becoming increasingly popular with the public; this led managing director R.E. Gerrard to shift the company focus and begin hand-slicing and frying potatoes.<ref name="Brooks"/><ref>{{cite book |last=Glenn |first=Martin |title=The Best Job in the World - The Walkers crisp Marketing Case Study |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nz-a8jwKbq0C |access-date=12 January 2016 |year=2005 |publisher=Compton House Publishing Ltd |isbn=978-0-9549518-0-1 |pages=6–7 |chapter=The Walkers' Story |archive-date=19 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220319091417/https://books.google.com/books?id=nz-a8jwKbq0C |url-status=live }}</ref>

Prior to the 1950s, crisps were sold without flavour; [[The Smith's Snackfood Company|Smith's]] of London sold plain potato crisps which came with a small blue sachet of salt that could be sprinkled over them.<ref name="flavours"/> The first crisps manufactured by Walkers in 1948 were sprinkled with salt and sold for [[Threepence (British coin)|threepence]] a bag.<ref name="Leicester"/> After [[Archer Martin]] and [[Richard Laurence Millington Synge|Richard Synge]] (while working in Leeds) received a Nobel Prize for the invention of [[partition chromatography]] in 1952, food scientists began to develop flavours via a [[gas chromatograph]], a device that allowed scientists to understand chemical compounds behind complex flavours such as cheese.<ref>{{cite news |title=100 years of food and flavour innovation |url=https://www.ukflavourassociation.org/about-us/history-flavourings |access-date=10 July 2021 |agency=UK Flavour Association |quote=1952. The Nobel Prize for Chemistry was awarded to British scientists, Richard Synge and Archer Martin, for the invention of partition chromatogrphy, which laid the foundations of gas chromatography. |archive-date=4 November 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211104132200/https://www.ukflavourassociation.org/about-us/history-flavourings |url-status=live }}</ref> In 1954, the first flavoured crisps were invented by Joe “Spud” Murphy (owner of the Irish company [[Tayto (Republic of Ireland)|Tayto]]) who developed a technique to add cheese and onion seasoning during production.<ref>{{cite news|title=Did Tayto really invent cheese and onion crisps?|url=https://www.irishtimes.com/life-and-style/food-and-drink/did-tayto-really-invent-cheese-and-onion-crisps-1.3915726|author=McElwain, Aoife|date=17 June 2019|work=The Irish News|access-date=16 September 2020|archive-date=25 July 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210725143450/https://www.irishtimes.com/life-and-style/food-and-drink/did-tayto-really-invent-cheese-and-onion-crisps-1.3915726?mode=sample&auth-failed=1&pw-origin=https://www.irishtimes.com/life-and-style/food-and-drink/did-tayto-really-invent-cheese-and-onion-crisps-1.3915726|url-status=live}}</ref> Later that year, Walkers introduced Cheese and Onion (inspired by the [[Ploughman's lunch]]), and Salt and Vinegar was launched in 1967 (inspired by the nation's love of [[fish and chips]]).<ref name="Leicester"/><ref name="flavours">{{cite news |title=So long, salt and vinegar: how crisp flavours went from simple to sensational |url=https://www.theguardian.com/food/2020/jan/14/so-long-salt-and-vinegar-how-crisp-flavours-went-from-simple-to-sensational |access-date=15 September 2020 |newspaper=The Guardian |archive-date=17 September 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200917032044/https://www.theguardian.com/food/2020/jan/14/so-long-salt-and-vinegar-how-crisp-flavours-went-from-simple-to-sensational |url-status=live }}</ref> The Walkers family sold the company in 1970 to the American food producer [[Standard Brands]],<ref name=glenn/> who in turn merged with another American food company [[Nabisco]] to form Nabisco Brands in 1981.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CdGjEAAAQBAJ&dq=%22standard+brands%22+Nabisco+merger&pg=PA486|title=MERGERS AND ACQUISITIONS, SECOND EDITION: STRATEGY, VALUATION AND INTEGRATION|author=RAY. KAMAL GHOSH|isbn=9789391818562|date=2022|page=486|publisher=PHI Learning Pvt. }}</ref> Prawn Cocktail flavour was introduced in the 1970s (inspired by the 1970s popular starter of [[prawn cocktail]]) and Roast Chicken (inspired by the nation's [[roast dinner]]).<ref name="Leicester">{{cite news |title=The history of Walkers Crisps and some amazing statistics |url=https://www.leicestermercury.co.uk/news/leicester-news/history-walkers-crisps-amazing-statistics-2055961 |access-date=15 September 2020 |newspaper=Leicester Mercury |archive-date=13 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220313183856/https://www.leicestermercury.co.uk/news/leicester-news/history-walkers-crisps-amazing-statistics-2055961 |url-status=live }}</ref> In 1982, Nabisco's purchased [[Huntley & Palmer|Associated Biscuits]], owners of rival [[The Smith's Snackfood Company|Smith's]]. In 1988, [[RJR Nabisco]] was purchased in a leverage buyout by [[Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co]], and to reduce debt several business were sold to French conglomerate [[Danone|BSN]], who quickly sold on Smith's and Walkers to [[PepsiCo]] in 1989.<ref>{{Cite web|title=PepsiCo buys former RJR Nabisco divisions|url=https://www.upi.com/Archives/1989/07/03/PepsiCo-buys-former-RJR-Nabisco-divisions/3685615441600/|access-date=8 September 2020|website=UPI|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1989/07/04/business/pepsico-to-aid-europe-sales-buys-2-british-snack-units.html|title=Pepsico, to Aid Europe Sales, Buys 2 British Snack Units|newspaper=The New York Times|date=1989}}</ref> At the time Walkers had a third of the crisp market in the United Kingdom, while Smith's had a third of the extruded snacks market, making them the market leader.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1989/07/04/business/pepsico-to-aid-europe-sales-buys-2-british-snack-units.html|title=Pepsico, to Aid Europe Sales, Buys 2 British Snack Units|newspaper=The New York Times|date=4 July 1989}}</ref>

The Walkers logo, featuring a red ribbon around a yellow sun, is noticeably similar to [[Lay's]]. Itand derives from the Walkers logo used in 1990.<ref>{{cnCite web |datetitle=JanuaryWalkers 2024{{!}} TheFAQs company{{!}} isAbout stillWalkers a& significantBusiness presence|url=https://www.walkers.co.uk/faqs/about-walkers-business in|access-date=2024-06-07 Leicester|website=www.walkers.co.uk}}</ref> [[Gary Lineker]], the Leicester-born former footballer, ishas nowbeen theinvolved facein ofadvertisements with the company since 1995. During the 90s, Walkers sold limited edition Salt and Lineker and Cheese & Owen crisps featuring the likenesses of Lineker and fellow footballer [[Michael Owen]].<ref>[https://www.planetfootball.com/nostalgia/salt-lineker-beyond-footballs-weird-relationship-walkers-crisps Planet football]</ref><ref>[https://www.leicestermercury.co.uk/news/local-news/walkers-reveal-new-football-themed-5399067 Leicestershire mercury]</ref> In 2000, Lineker's Walkers commercials were ranked ninth in [[Channel 4]]’s UK wide poll of "[[The 100 Greatest TV Ads]]".<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.channel4.com/entertainment/greatest_ads/|title=The 100 Greatest TV Ads|year=2000|publisher=[[Channel 4]]|location=London|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20010618095141/https://www.channel4.com/entertainment/greatest_ads/|archive-date=18 June 2001|url-status=dead|access-date=4 August 2019}}</ref> The official website states that an estimated "11 million people will eat a Walkers product every day".<ref name="Totals">{{cite news |title=Walkers crisp packet recycling claims need 'a pinch of salt' |url=https://www.theguardian.com/business/2019/mar/19/take-walkers-crisp-packet-recycling-claims-with-a-pinch-of-salt |access-date=8 July 2019 |work=The Guardian |archive-date=3 August 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190803171527/https://www.theguardian.com/business/2019/mar/19/take-walkers-crisp-packet-recycling-claims-with-a-pinch-of-salt |url-status=live }}</ref> The company employs over 4,000 people in 15 locations around the UK.<ref>{{cite news |title=Fury over crisps for sacked workers |url=https://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/fury-over-crisps-sacked-workers-2352897 |access-date=4 July 2019 |work=Wales Online |archive-date=4 July 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190704214242/https://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/fury-over-crisps-sacked-workers-2352897 |url-status=live }}</ref>

[[File:Walkers crisp factory, Lincoln, England - DSCF1412.JPG|thumb|left|upright=0.9|Front entrance to Walkers factory in Lincoln, England]]

In 1997, Walkers became the brand name of [[Quavers]] and [[Monster Munch]] snacks. In January 1999, Walkers launched Max, a brand with a range of crisps and then a new-look Quavers in March 1999. In April 2000, another of the Max flavours called Red Hot Max was launched and then Naked Max in June 2000. In February 2000, a new-look [[Cheetos]] was relaunched, serving as the only cheesy snack in the UK. In July 2000, the Quavers packaging was updated. In March 2001, WalkersSquares boughtcrisps Squaresthat had been marketed as Smith's, awere rangerebranded ofunder [[snacks]]the fromWalkers Smithsbrand. in.In November 2001, more Max flavours were introduced. They included chargrilled steak and [[Fish and chip shop|chip shop]] curry.

In January 2003, Smiths brandsbrand [[Salt 'n' Shake]], Scampi Fries and Bacon Fries were relaunched under the Walkers identity. In January 2003 Walkers bought [[Wotsits]] from [[Golden Wonder]], which replaced Cheetos during December 2002. In April 2004, Walkers launched a Flamin' Hot version of Wotsits, which replaced BBQ beef, and then Wotsits Twisted, a range of [[cheese puffs]] in July 2004. In September 2007, Walkers launched Sunbites, a healthier range of lower/better fat crisps made using whole grains.<ref>{{cite web |url= https://www.sunbites.co.uk/ |title= Sunbites website |publisher= Sunbites.co.uk |access-date= 12 July 2012 |archive-date= 15 August 2012 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20120815041250/http://www.sunbites.co.uk/ |url-status= live }}</ref>

Walkers' most common flavours of regular crisp are Ready Salted (sold in a red packet), Salt & Vinegar (green), Cheese & Onion (blue), Smoky Bacon (maroon) and Prawn Cocktail (pink). Other flavours are sold in other coloured packets, such as Beef & Onion (brown), or [[Marmite]] (black), and [[Worcestershire sauce]] (purple). The unusual colours for Walkers packaging with Salt & Vinegar (in green, with other brands in blue), and Cheese & Onion (in blue, with other brands in green) has been debated in the UK, with some believing Walkers switched the colours; however, Walkers have stated that they have always had that colour scheme.<ref name="colour"/> In 2021, actress [[Thandiwe Newton]] joked, "Salt 'n Vinegar is BLUE, and Cheese and Onion is GREEN. Ok? Enough with this foolishness."<ref name="colour">{{cite news |title=Thandiwe Newton revives the green vs blue crisps debate and the nation needs answers |url=https://metro.co.uk/2021/05/15/thandiwe-newton-reignites-blue-vs-green-crisps-debate-14588124/ |access-date=30 August 2021 |work=Metro |archive-date=30 August 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210830093424/https://metro.co.uk/2021/05/15/thandiwe-newton-reignites-blue-vs-green-crisps-debate-14588124/ |url-status=live }}</ref> The confusion can be attributed to Walker's rise to become the most popular brand in the UK (overtaking [[Golden Wonder]], whose colour scheme people had become used to) after their acquisition by PepsiCo in the 1990s.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The curse of Golden Wonder: Walkers finds public still stuck in the olden days of crisp colours {{!}} YouGov |url=https://yougov.co.uk/topics/society/articles-reports/2016/10/28/walkers-crisp-packet-colours-are-wrong-way-round-s |access-date=20 May 2023 |website=yougov.co.uk |language=en-gb |archive-date=20 May 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230520232629/https://yougov.co.uk/topics/society/articles-reports/2016/10/28/walkers-crisp-packet-colours-are-wrong-way-round-s |url-status=live }}</ref>