Walkers 45% Less Salt crosses £30 million sales mark   

PepsiCo said the Walkers 45% Less Salt range, its first non-HFSS potato crisp, has already become a hit with the UK shoppers, becoming a £30 million brand despite only launching last year.

The range is estimated to be in over 16% of UK households, based on the latest NielsenIQ data

Walkers 45% Less Salt contains nearly half the salt compared to regular potato crisps, made possible by using new flavour technology to replace the sodium and rebalance the taste, ensuring the great flavour and quality consumers expect from Walkers.

The product was one of several product innovations last year on the back of setting the firm’s new health ambition that half of its sales would come from snacks that do not classify as high in fat, salt and sugar (HFSS) or from portions of 100 calories or less, by 2025.

“A year on, we’ve already made huge strides in turning our ambition into a reality, as 30 per cent of our sales are already from healthier alternatives and two-thirds of all new products launched in 2022 were not classified as high in fat, salt or sugar,” the company said.

The popularity of Walkers 45% Less Salt suggests growing consumer demand for lower-salt snacks as 79 per cent of people surveyed for Walkers said that eating less salt is important to their health.

Despite containing nearly half the salt, the range has performed strongly in consumer taste testing with 8 out of 10 consumers stating that it exceeded expectations and there was no perceived taste compromise with less salt, PepsiCo added.

Made with 100% British potatoes, the range launched with three classic flavours: Mild Cheese & Onion, Lightly Salted, and A Dash of Salt & Vinegar, and has recently expanded with the addition of Delicate Prawn Cocktail.