Walkers is continuing its portfolio transformation, revamping products from three popular ranges – Walkers Baked, Doritos Dippers and PopWorks – to become non-HFSS, meeting the demand for healthier snacks that don’t compromise on taste.
PepsiCo says that the new products, coupled with the nationwide roll-out of PopWorks, show the company’s dedication to increasing choice across "better-for-you" snacking options without compromising on enjoyment. The company says this is also an important step towards its ambition for half of its snack sales to come from non-HFSS alternatives or from products sold in portions of 100 calories or less, by 2025.
The changes are part of a £35 million investment (over the next three years), which sees experts at Walkers global R&D centre in Leicester innovating to reduce saturated fat and salt content without impacting flavour and taste. The ranges also meet consumer demand for products that deliver on flavour and enjoyment (with 71 per cent noting health as a key driver for snacking occasions, and 80 per cent stating enjoyment).
POPWORKS
PopWorks, which is now available nationwide across grocery, convenience, and wholesale channels, are snacks that have the irresistible taste customers are looking for. PopWorks are never fried, contain 40-60 per cent less fat than regular potato crisps, and are under 100 calories per 17g serving. A crunchy, puffy and tasty snack, they are available in Sweet & Salty, Sweet Chipotle Chilli, and Sour Cream & Onion flavours and all three flavours are NHFSS. These SKUs come in sharing formats - and Sweet & Salty and Sweet Chipotle Chilli also come in single pack formats, making them suitable for any snacking occasion. The Sweet and Salty flavour is also vegan.
WALKERS BAKED
The Walkers Baked range has been transformed and now offers customers 100 per cent non-HFSS, healthier savoury snack options that deliver on flavour. The Walkers Baked range is baked never fried, contains 50 per cent less fat than regular potato crisps and has less than 100 calories per 22g multipack bag. All Cheese & Onion, Sea Salted, Salt & Vinegar, Prawn Cocktail and new Cheese & Jalapeno flavours are available in grab bags and multipack formats - and the packaging has a new look and feel to showcase the health claims the range now offers.
DORITOS DIPPERS
Finally, Doritos Dippers has updated its range to include three non-HFSS flavours: Hint of Salt, Hint of Smoked Paprika, and Hint of Sour Cream. Now 30 per cent thicker and crunchier, consumers can load up this delicious chip with their favourite dips and toppings for the ultimate dipping experience. Available in 270g packs, Doritos Dippers are perfect for sharing and family snacking occasions.
“We have taken some of our best-loved brands – PopWorks, Doritos Dippers and Walkers Baked – and transformed them to offer customers a wider selection of flavourful non-HFSS snacks," said Fiona Tomlin, Chief Marketing Officer at PepsiCo. "This is an important milestone in our long-term commitment to provide smart snacking choices, without compromising on taste.
“We’re dedicated to bringing more choice to millions of UK consumers by offering a wide range of non-HFSS options. I am confident that consumers will enjoy these exciting products as much as their old favourites."
Earlier this year, the company launched Walkers 45 per cent Less Salt, its first non-HFSS potato crisp range. This new product contains nearly half the salt compared with regular crisps, while maintaining the great flavour that Walkers is known for, made possible by using new ingredients to replace sodium.
More recently the company also launched new non-HFSS SKUs across Walkers MAX, Snack a Jacks and Quaker.
Walkers’ dedication to inspiring customers to make positive choices forms part of PepsiCo Positive, the company’s strategic end-to-end transformation plan with health and sustainability at the centre.
PopWorks, Doritos Dippers and Walkers Baked are available nationwide from July onwards.
Diablo, the producer of disobediently good wines, has inked a partnership with new musical The Devil Wears Prada, which makes its UK debut in London this month.
Diablo (which means "devil" in Spanish) will feature on programmes, and competitions will be run to award tickets for the shows, which run until 31 May 2025. Diablo wines will also be poured at Elton John’s Opening Night Gala at the British Museum in London on 1 December, where a bespoke "Diablo" bar will be built.
The Devil Wears Prada Musical is a new stage adaptation of the popular 2006 film, itself based on Lauren Weisberger's novel.
The Diablo wine brand, first launched in 2018, is growing at a phenomenal rate in the UK, +33.4 per cent by value in the past 52 weeks. It has successfully introduced new wines into its portfolio, with the original Diablo Dark Red being joined by Chardonnay, and most recently Purple Malbec, Volcanic Cab and Deep Carmenere, all listed in major multiple grocers.
Diablo is attracting a distinctive younger and more affluent shopper (45 per cent of its shoppers are under 45 versus 14 per cent of shoppers across total still wine).
“This is an incredibly exciting time for the brand," said Javiera Moller, Senior Brand Manager at Concha y Toro UK. "The Devil Wears Prada is an iconic and much-loved story, now brought to life on the London stage with a star cast and a great score by Elton John, and the 'devil' connection makes it a perfect partner for our brand.
“Our audience are disruptive, intelligent, stylish and early adopters of brands and trends. This partnership gives us the chance to activate with our target consumers, and build the profile of an already-thriving wine brand.”
From its initial launch in 2018 with Diablo Dark Red blend, the brand now has six wines in multiple retail distribution in the UK:
Diablo Dark Red
Diablo Volcanic Cabernet Sauvignon
Diablo Purple Malbec
Diablo Deep Carmenere
Diablo Golden Chardonnay
Diablo Crystal Sauvignon Blanc
The brand has grown from £2 million in retail sales value in the UK less than five years ago to be worth over £20 million today (RSV).
Scandinavian Tobacco Group UK has introduced this year’s limited-edition pack for its ever-popular Henri Wintermans Half Corona brand, which is available to retailers now.
The Henri Wintermans Half Corona is easily the biggest brand in the medium / large segment and is now the UK’s fifth biggest selling cigar in value terms, with annual sales worth £16.3m. This new limited edition “Gentleman” pack adds a personal touch to the brand and celebrates its long heritage and continuing success, designed in a timeless pin stripe suit with the logo and information stitched into the fabric, which reflects both the aspirational nature of the product and the attention to detail that goes into crafting these fine cigars. Despite the changes to the packaging, the cigars inside of course remain the same.
“Retailers certainly won’t need me to tell them that sales of larger cigars go up in the build up to Christmas when adult smokers are in celebratory mood and typically have more time to enjoy them,” said STG’s UK Head of Marketing, Prianka Jhingan. “Our Henri Wintermans Half Corona is always a big seller at this time of year and this limited issue Gentleman’s edition pack should only increase sales further. My advice to retailers is to stock up on it, as it is easily the UK’s best-selling medium / large cigar and has a loyal following due to its quality blend and heritage.”
Gordon’s is today unveiling its new ATL campaign, "Mix It Up". The ad, which shows consumers choosing to pace their consumption by switching between Gordon’s Pink and Gordon’s Pink 0.0%, has been created to empower consumers to moderate their consumption in a way that works for them.
Mix It Up is the first Gordon’s campaign to bring both Gordon’s Pink and Gordon’s Pink alcohol-free variants together in one advert. With 36 per cent of drinkers currently pacing their consumption with soft drinks and 49 per cent of alcohol-free occasions also featuring alcohol, the campaign offers those looking to moderate an option that doesn’t compromise on taste.
The new TVC invites viewers to join an evening out with a group of friends. As the group begin to drink their Gordon’s & Tonic, the screen splits in two to visually demonstrate how they choose to pace their night by switching between Gordon’s Pink and Gordon’s Pink 0.0%.
In addition to the new TVC, a suite of assets have been created to bring the campaign to life across social and digital channels. Whilst in the same universe as the commercial, the social content hero’s Gordon's long-term partner Maya Jama who brings to life how she chooses to mix it up for followers.
“When creating this campaign, we wanted to demonstrate that moderation didn’t have to be a binary decision between having something alcoholic or alcohol free," said Tayara Sousa Linke, Global Head of Marketing. "We know that this perceived choice impacts people’s decision to moderate, so, through Mix It Up, we wanted to highlight that it is possible to seamlessly switch between the two and enjoy the same great taste of Gordon’s Pink whilst moderating with Gordon’s Pink Alcohol Free.”
The new creative will run across BVOD, Social and Digital channels in GB.
Scandinavian Tobacco Group UK is pleased to introduce this year’s limited-edition pack for its ever-popular Henri Wintermans Half Corona brand, which is available to retailers now.
The Henri Wintermans Half Corona is easily the biggest brand in the medium / large segment and is now the UK’s fifth biggest selling cigar in value terms, with annual sales worth £16.3m. This new limited edition "Gentleman" pack adds a personal touch to the brand and celebrates its long heritage and continuing success, designed in a timeless pin stripe suit with the logo and information stitched into the fabric, which reflects both the aspirational nature of the product and the attention to detail that goes into crafting these fine cigars. Despite the changes to the packaging, the cigars inside of course remain the same.
“Retailers certainly won’t need me to tell them that sales of larger cigars go up in the build up to Christmas when adult smokers are in celebratory mood and typically have more time to enjoy them," said STG’s UK Head of Marketing, Prianka Jhingan. "Our Henri Wintermans Half Corona is always a big seller at this time of year and this limited issue Gentleman’s edition pack should only increase sales further. My advice to retailers is to stock up on it, as it is easily the UK’s best-selling medium / large cigar and has a loyal following due to its quality blend and heritage.”
Highgrove today (25) announced the launch of its new limited-edition Royal Gardens Single Malt Whisky, made using heritage barley grown on the Highgrove Estate.
This special edition has been created from a unique vatting of Cotswolds Distillery single malt whisky made using heritage Plumage Archer barley grown at the Highgrove Estate and aged in premium active ex-red wine and first fill bourbon casks.
Plumage Archer is a barley variety which yields a subtle but unique twist on Cotswolds’ new make spirit. The Royal Gardens edition was bottled exclusively by Cotswolds Distillery on Oct 21 2024 and a limited-edition collection of just 400 bottles is available to purchase exclusively from The Highgrove Shop at Highgrove Gardens, the Highgrove website and Cotswolds Distillery shops and website.
Each bottle of Highgrove Royal Gardens Single Malt Whisky is numbered and adorned with a label showcasing a watercolour of The South Front, Highgrove House by His Majesty King Charles III reproduced by kind permission of The King’s Foundation to Cotswolds Distillery.
The King’s Foundation is the custodian of Highgrove Gardens for the opening of Highgrove Gardens to the public, which generates an annual income for the charity. All profits from sales of the whisky will support The King's Foundation for its charitable delivery of education and training initiatives, some of which take place at Highgrove.
The King’s Foundation’s base at Highgrove accommodates education and training opportunities in furniture-making, fashion, and textiles, and building craft skills.
Scott Simpson, Retail Director at The King’s Foundation, said: "We are so excited to launch a new limited edition whisky with Cotswolds Distillery and it’s particularly special that it has been produced using heritage barley grown on the Highgrove Estate. The garden at Highgrove provides inspiration for all of our products, including our extensive range of food and drink made using ingredients from the garden. We are proud that all of the proceeds from Highgrove products are ploughed back into the work of The King’s Foundation and the charity’s educational delivery which takes place on site.’’
Cotswolds Distillery Founder Dan Szor comments, “We are so happy with our ongoing relationship with Highgrove, which represents traditional values of British craftsmanship at its finest, and it is an honour indeed to adorn this bottling with His Majesty's beautiful painting of the Highgrove Estate”
The Cotswolds Distillery is the first and only full-scale distillery in the Cotswolds Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. It is committed to being a model of environmentally sustainable rural business, creating jobs and highlighting its beautiful region to visitors from around the world.
All the barley is sourced locally and traditionally floor-malted at nearby Warminster Maltings, Britain’s oldest working maltings, where Plumage Archer barley was originally invented in 1906.
Highgrove Royal Gardens Single Malt Whisky ABV: 50% is RRP at £250 for a 70cl bottle. It is available to purchase exclusively from: Highgrove and Cotswolds Distillery.