Forget the upmarket black truffle or posh sea salt and cider vinegar crisps. Shoppers are bringing 1990s flavours back.
Whether it is nostalgia or a new generation discovering the British classics on social media, supermarket sales data show brands such as Frazzles and Nik Naks are having a revival.
Smiths’ crispy bacon Frazzles sales have increased by 48% since last year, according to data from Ocado.
But it’s not just Smiths bringing home the bacon. Prawn cocktail Skips have had a boost in sales, increasing by 47%. This is closely followed by Smiths’ vinegar Chipsticks, which are up 42% this year compared with 2023.
Discos have also proved popular, with demand increasing 15% month on month. NikNaks Rib ’N’ Saucy multipacks are up by 6% in the same period.
Social media seems to be a factor in the trend, but it appears to fly in the face of advice naming flavoured crisps as one of the big contributors to people’s intake of ultra processed food (UPF).
Plain salted crisps can be non-UPF, whereas flavoured ones, such as the familiar retro flavours, often contain additives, flavour enhancers and emulsifiers.
And while they may be trending on social media, the TV chefs Nigella Lawson and Nadiya Hussain have been known to incorporate these retro flavours in their cooking for years.
In a twist on a classic comfort mac’n’cheese, Hussain added Wotsits for what she described as “that extreme cheesy flavour”.
A year later, Lawson went viral on social media when she made a crisp sandwich in 2022. She captioned the post “I adore bread. I adore crisps. Together they are just rapturous!”
Nathan Hawker, a buyer at Ocado Retail, said 1990s nostalgia on social media was helping to make familiar, old-school flavoured crisps fashionable again.
He said: “There’s been loads of innovation within the category in recent years, including a huge growth in demand for posh flavours and gourmet styles, like the M&S Collection truffle and olive oil crisps and … the Torres iberico ham.
“Sometimes, however, only the familiar flavours, value and practicality of the humble retro multipack will do. With many millennials now shopping for their own families, it looks like they are rediscovering their old lunchbox loves, while the wave of 90s nostalgia on social media is also helping to make old school crisps cool.”