Premium 100% natural crisp brand Red Sky is launching the first natural vinegar potato chip into the fast-expanding sharing snack market. The new Red Sky 150g Sea Salt and Suffolk Cider Vinegar flavour will be supported by heavy marketing investment and offers retailers the opportunity to drive incremental category sales by expanding choice and appealing to new customers.

Red Sky offers the best of nature, using unique, proprietary technology to deliver innovative flavours with 100% natural ingredients. It uses less oil and delivers a fresher taste and lower fat content than competing brands.

Sharing has become the growth engine of the CSN category, with 660,000 more households buying sharing snacks within the last year. With consumers staying in to entertain more frequently, the sharing occasion is expected to grow a further 5.3% in the next 12 months, and sales of new products are predicted to grow by 57% in the same period.

Charles Allen, Marketing Director for Walkers, says: "Our sales results reveal that Red Sky's signature combination of premium quality and excellent value has quickly positioned it as the ideal snack for the popular sharing occasion. Consumer research indicates that over three quarters* of consumers said they prefer the superior taste of Red Sky to that of other premium crisps and with the introduction of Sea Salt and Suffolk Cider Vinegar, we've added another dimension to our premium portfolio. We're confident that Red Sky will go from strength to strength in year two."

Research also suggests, however, that while 55% of all new crisps and snacks sales come from sharing products, they are significantly under-spaced across most of Grocery. "Availability and visibility are key for all sharing snacks and Walkers will be encouraging retailers to use simple POS solutions whilst stocking up on the complete Red Sky range to create awareness of the new flavour in-store," says Allen.

* PepsiCo's 6W's research, February 09