More than half (59%) of sales of our UK snacks portfolio, which encompasses brands including Walkers and Doritos, now come from healthier options[1].
In April 2022, we set out an ambition to make 50% of our snacks sales come from healthier choices by 2025. Over the past three years, we've reached this milestone by developing new recipes across well-known brands, launching over 60 new products that are lower in salt and fat, and introducing snacks in portions of 100kcals or less.
This includes an enhanced recipe for Doritos, which made the tortilla chips’ signature crunch even bolder[2], while reducing the amount of salt and fat by up to 18% and 14% respectively[3]. The enhanced recipe lifted sales by nearly 20% post-launch[4]. Last year, we also tweaked the recipes of most of our core Walkers crisp seasonings, bringing fans the same classic flavour they know and love but with an average of 47% less salt.
These much-loved products join a raft of brands in our portfolio that have moved to non-HFSS since 2022, including Walkers Oven Baked, Walkers Sensations, Doritos Dippers, Sunbites, PopWorks and Snack A Jacks.
In addition to evolving our existing ranges, we have also launched new products made using a diverse variety of ingredients to bring consumers more nutritional and functional benefits. This includes a range of chickpea-based Wotsits and Monster Munch under the Yummy With brand, which are less than 100kcal per serving, 25% lower in salt than the average extruded product and provide a source of fibre.
Our £35 million investment also enabled upgrades to manufacturing lines at our UK sites in Coventry, Leicester, Lincoln and Skelmersdale to support the production of healthier snacks.
It builds on more than 20 years of leadership in developing healthier snacks without compromising on taste. In 2005, we reduced saturated fat in Walkers crisps by 70% and cut salt by between 25% and 50% across the range. Since then, we have continued this momentum by updating recipes and introducing several new non-HFSS snacks, most recently Walkers Hot Honey, Sticky Teriyaki and Masala Chicken and the brand new Slow Roasted Beef and Sun Dried Tomato & Basil flavours for Walkers Baked.
Jason Richards, SVP & General Manager for PepsiCo UK & Ireland, said:
“We’ve been transforming our portfolio for over two decades, creating great-tasting snacks that are lower in salt and fat, without ever compromising on the flavour and quality we are known for. In the last three years, we’ve really accelerated that work and are delighted to have far exceeded our health ambition as a result.
We’re now going further – introducing diverse ingredients like fibre to improve nutritional content, alongside bold new flavours that surprise and delight.
“To continue to build on this progress, we need a policy landscape that encourages reformulation and innovation, which is why we urge the government not to change the regulatory goalposts that underpin public health restrictions”.
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[1] Not classified as high in fat, salt or sugar or from portions of 100 Calories or less per packet. This includes a small percentage of snacks that are exempt from the HFSS product placement restrictions that came in to force in October 2022 even though they may not meet the definition under the 2004/2005 Nutrition Profile Model.
[2] Compared with the previous 2023 recipe.
[3] Compared with the previous 2023 recipe.
[4] +19% increase in sales value for our sharing bags: ACNielsen TotalCoverageGB, value sales wk44-52 2024