KP Snacks announces HFSS brand reformulation strategy

KP Snacks has revealed its HFSS brand reformulation strategy, ahead of the introduction of government HFSS legislation in October. Tyrrells, popchips, Hula Hoops Puft, and Penn State are being reformulated, with non-HFSS products rolling out over the coming months.

For the premium and popular sharing brand, Tyrrells, the Lightly Sea Salted flavour which is the number one SKU in the range is being reformulated, and will be available as non-HFSS in both sharing, multipack and singles formats from May. This follows Tyrrells Mediterranean Herb being launched in January this year.

popchips will be reformulated across the entire range. This will be a phased roll-out with the full range reformulated ahead of October. The range is worth £40m RSV and is growing in value at +32.5 per cent. Growing ahead of the Healthier crisps and snacks category, popchips has contributed 58 per cent of the growth in the segment.

The non-HFSS Hula Hoops Puft range, consisting of Beef, Salt and Salt & Vinegar flavours, will be rolled out by the end of June. At under 75 calories per pack, it is already one of the lowest calorie snacks in the market.

Popular Penn State flavour Sour Cream & Chive Pretzels will be non-HFSS by May, joining a new non-HFSS Roasted Chilli Pretzels variant which launches this month and offers a tasty and more permissible snack with a hint of spice.

At the same time, the snacks manufacturer will be focussing on building its KP brand, worth £83.8M RSV and growing +7.3 per cent YTD, ahead of the nuts segment at 2 per cent. Nuts have been recognised for their natural credentials and are therefore excluded from the proposed legislation, offering a significant opportunity for growth.

By the time the new legislation is introduced, over 100 SKUs and a quarter of the KP Snacks portfolio will be non-HFSS, making it one of the most comprehensive non-HFSS ranges available within the Crisps, Nuts and Snacks category. This broad range will be extremely important to retailers as it will be excluded from any promotion and location restrictions that the legislation stipulates.

“At KP Snacks, we are here to help retailers navigate and adjust to the new legislation. We are ready to embrace the changes that the HFSS legislation will bring and will ensure that we work in partnership with our retailers to continue driving category growth," said Sales Director, Andy Riddle.

As a part of its "Taste for Good" commitment, KP Snacks has been working on improving the health credentials of its products for a number of years. As a result, 80 per cent of KP Snacks’ product portfolio currently contains less than 4g of saturated fat per 100g, 69 per cent of the portfolio contains less than 5g of sugar per 100g, and since the 2018 pledge, there has been a 2.72 per cent salt reduction across the total range. The company has also continued to remove artificial flavours, sweeteners and colours from all of its products.