Crunching the numbers
Valued at €207 million annually, the Irish crisp and snack category is a vital FMCG sector for retailers, with NPD consistently driving sales
14 June 2012
AT A GLANCE: CRISPS AND SNACKS
- The Irish crisp and snack category is valued at €207 million* annually
- Largo’s brands, which includeTayto, Hunky Dorys, King and Perri, account for a 50%* share of the overall crisps market
- *(Source: AC Nielsen, Markettrack, Value, MAT 16 May 2012)
- Tayto supports Irish farmers by locally sourcing 30,000 tonnes of potatoes annually,which equates to nearly 10% of the nation’s crop
- Tayto is the number one crisp and snack brand in Ireland *(Source: AC Nielsen, Markettrack, Value, MAT 16 May 2012)
- Hunky Dorys is Ireland’s number one crinkle cut crisp brand
- The Hunky Dorys brand represents a 15%* share ofIreland’s crisps market
- The sharing crisps sector grew by 24% last year
- Hunky Dorys is Ireland’s best selling share bag crisp brand
- King Crisps commands a 10%* share of the Irish crisps market
- Over 45% of all KingCrisps sales come from outside Dublin
- Keogh’s has created the world’sfirst-ever shamrock flavoured food,Keogh’s hand cooked Shamrock and Sour Cream Irish potato crisps
- TheKP brand is valued at €23 million (Source: Nielsen)
- TheMeanies brand including Meanies and Mega Meanies is worth over EUR*4 million
- McCoysCrisps are the number two ridged crisp in Ireland
- Tyrell’s has achieved over 50 Gold Great Taste awards for its crisps
- The Walkers Sensations brand is worth €3 million in Ireland (Source: Nielsen, Total Scantrack, MAT 22 Apr/12)
- Doritos is Ireland’s number one snack brand (Source: Nielsen Total Scantrack Value YTD 25th March 2012)
The crisp and snack category in Ireland has long been one of the most profitable FMCG categories for retailers on this isle. One of the key trends currently occurring within this key category is the rising popularity of sharing bags.The Euro 2012 tournament, which according to Retail Excellence Ireland, willlead to an estimated boost of €250 million for Ireland’s retailindustry, will exert a significant impact on the crisps and snacks sector.
Not surprisingly, footie fans will be keen to stock up on snacks when invitingfamily and friends round to enjoy a gamut of nail-biting matches. So much so that brandshave certainly been quick off the mark in terms of introducing football themed promotions, advertising campaigns and even new soccer-inspired flavours. What’s more, clever merchandising of crisp and snack brands will lead to even greater volumes of cross category sales for canny retailers.
Deep-rooted Irish commitment
Irish owned Largo Foods, based inAshbourne, Co. Meath, is the largest snack-food company in Ireland andrepresents some of the country’s most iconic brands in the guise of Tayto,Hunky Dorys, King and Perri. Together, Largo’s brands account for 50%* share of the overall market. The company’s deep rooted commitment to Ireland is evidenced by its employment of over 500 people at its manufacturing facilities in Meath and Donegal. In addition to its employment commitment the company is alsoa major supporter of the Irish farming community through its local sourcing of30,000 tonnes of potatoes annually which equates to nearly 10% of the nation’s crop.
Ireland’s number one
As Ireland’s number one crisp and snack brand, Tayto has successfully maintained its position as thefifth biggest FMCG brand in Ireland**. Tayto’s ongoing commitment to excitingconsumers through quality, new product development and extensive promotionaland marketing campaigns, has helped the brand retain its number one positionwith 31% market share*. Mostrecently Tayto has launched a new flavour variant of a very popular crisp withthe introduction of Tayto Prawn Cocktail. Tayto’s new flavour is proving very popular with consumers and is wellon its way to becoming the third best selling flavour after Cheese & Onionand Salt & Vinegar.
Currently, Tayto is running a massive nationwide campaign tosupport the Irish soccer team as part of its FAI sponsorship deal. Activity hasincluded the release of a Limited Edition Tayto Sour Cream and Dunne’ion pack,made with pure ‘Sunflower Doyle’, together with a national media campaign withToday FM and The Star newspaper.
And as the summer season fast approaches the brand will beat the forefront of consumers’ minds as Tayto Park gears up to welcome over500,000 visitors this year. The arrival of the new white lions is generatinggreat excitement in Tayto Park. From the Timabavati region of South Africa,these impressive rare animals are the first pride of white lions in Ireland.
Everything’s Hunky Dorys
As the nation’s number one crinkle cut crisp, Hunky Dorys has certainly created a lot of stir within themarket within the past few years. The brand’s recent marketing campaigns havecertainly won over many new friends whom have helped the brand grow to a levelwhere it now represents 15%* share of the crisp market. In addition to buildinga very strong following for the brand in impulse and multipack formats, Hunky Dorys’ consumers seem to really enjoy munching through large share bags with thesharing crisps sector growing by 24% last year, making Hunky Dorys the bestselling share bag crisp in the market. Recognising the high level of consumer interest for the brand in this sharing/party format, Hunky Dorys has recently entered the tortilla and nuts markets.
With the launch of Hunky Dorys Tortillas (two variants of175 grams: “Flaming Chilli” and “Cheesey Cheese”) and Hunky Dorys Nuts (two variants of 200 grams: Dry Roasted and Salted) the brand is certainly well positioned to capitalise on its ever-increasing popularity.
King of the castle
Traditionally a Dublin favourite, King Crisps, commands 10%* share of the Irish crisps market. Inrecent years the brand has been winning new fans outside of its Dublin base andnow over 45% of all King sales come from outside Dublin. To build on its increasing popularity,King has recently entered the hand cooked/kettle crisp category with the launchof King “Gold Standard” Crisps. In its endeavour to marry the finest crisp withsuperior flavouring, King has established partnerships with Wexford Cheddar forits cheese & onion product and Leo Burdock for its salt & vinegarvariant. Available in 50 grams and125 gram pack formats, King Gold is causing great consumer excitement and issure to build on the growing nationwide popularity of the brand.
*(Source: AC Nielsen, Markettrack, Value, MAT 16 May 2012)
**(Source: Checkout Top 100 Brands)
From crop to crisp
Keogh’s, the entrepreneurial Irish farmers who have been growingpotatoes in north county Dublin for over 200 years, launched Keogh’s handcooked Irish potato crisps in November 2011. Keogh’s entered the crisp andsnack category as the only “on-farm” producers of hand cooked potato crisps inIreland, having set up a small ‘crisping house’ on their farm, hand cookingtheir crisps in small batches and turning them from “crop to crisp” on the same day.
Keogh’s carefully selected several Irish foodproducers to create three distinct but uniquely Irish flavours for theirhand-cooked crisps.
Keogh’s Roast Beef and Dungarvan Irish Stout Crisps was created with Irish stout supplied by Dungarvan Brewing Company, which uses artisan methods with all brewing and bottling done on-site in its brewery in Co. Waterford. Keogh’s Dubliner Irish Cheese & Onion Crisps boast thedistinct and mature cheese flavour of Dubliner Irish Cheese pulling on a lifetime of heritage cheese making. Keogh’s Atlantic Sea Salt & Lewellyn’s IrishCider Vinegar Crisps incorporate David Llewellyn’s Irish Orchard Produce fromhis small-holding in North County Dublin, where he grows a range of fruits.
In March 2012 after the success of the primaryflavours, Keogh’s created the world’s first-ever shamrock flavoured fooddelight, Keogh’s hand cooked Shamrock and Sour Cream Irish potato crisps tocelebrate St Patrick’s Day.
General manager Tom Keogh says: “Finding out howto make the perfect crisps took us around the world. It took four years to develop the know-how and source all the right machinery. Our kettle fryeris 30 years old and we found it in a small Amish community in ruralPennsylvania where they had been cooking crisps since 1876. We now are the onlypotato growers in the world who offer fresh potatoes and potato crisps from thesame farm side by side in the same store and we sleep, eat and breathe potato crisps!”
Keogh’s are available in Superquinn and selectedTesco, Dunes Stores and Supervalu stores nationwide. To find out more about Keogh’s handcooked crisps visit www.keoghs.ie.
Going nuts for diverse KP range
The KP brand is valued at €23million according to the latest AC Nielsen data. The KP snack portfolio includes consumer favourites Hula Hoops, Skips, Rancheros, Meanies, McCoys and of course KP Nuts too.
Hula Hoops, a leading snack brand,is made with 100%sunflower oil and contains no artificial colours, flavours or MSG. The
HulaHoops brand is enjoying strong growth attributed to a strong consumer and tradeactivation programme. The recent on-pack promotion, Snack Track, was a greatsuccess and is now being followed with 25% Extra Hula Hoops handipack bags.
In fact 25% Extra handipacks are now also available on NikNaks and Discos handipacks too.
Hula Hoops 7s multipack’s move to 30% less packaging hasalso been welcomed by consumersand retailers as it is more environmentally friendly with less waste and morespace, making it more efficient in-store. Hula Hoop has also recently launcheda range of Big Hoops for the sharing occasion. These fun shaped larger Hoopsare available in 160g bags in Original, BBQ, Sour Cream & Chive and SweetChilli flavours.
McCoys Crisps are the number tworidged crisp in the market and the brand continues to grow in popularity withconsumers. Available in Flame Grilled Steak, Salt & Vinegar, Cheese &Onion and Bacon Sizzler, McCoys Crisps are cooked using a unique recipe. Thethick ridges hold more flavour to deliver a really satisfying flavour. McCoysare now on promotion with a football themed promotion so make sure to stock upin advance of Euro 2012. McCoys is giving away 3D TVs every day during thepromotion and there is also 10% off at Sports Direct with every pack. There arealso two new flavours for footie fans – Sausage Striker and Chicken Winger. Thenew flavours will be available for a limited period over the next couple ofmonths. Full details of the promotion are available at www.mycoys.co.uk.
Skips, Rancheros and Meanies areall made in Ireland by Robert Roberts in Tallaght.
Skips’ unique properties make it astrong favourite with its unique shape and fizzibly, melty properties. TheRancheros bacon flavoured potato snack remains a much loved snack with wideconsumer appeal. Skips and Rancheros are available in impulse, multipack andsharing formats offering the perfect solution for every snacking occasion.
The Meanies brand including Meanies and Mega Meanies is worth over EUR*4 million. Meanies is loved for itsdistinctive taste and playful shape and the brand is available in handipacks,multipacks and now sharing bags too. The brand has recently launched a new Hot& Spicy flavour which is now available in a share bag as well. Also madelocally in Tallaght, the Jawz brand is available in 50g bags of Bacon andCheese and Onion flavours and offers consumers excellent value for money inthese cash strapped times. For more information, visit www.jawz.ie.
New to the market this year are Peppa Pig puddle shaped potato snacks. The Peppa Pig character is hughly popular withyoung consumers and Robert Roberts believes the new Peppa Pig snacks are boundto be a big hit too. The new Peppa Pig snacks are available in a Cheese &Onion flavour and are available in handipack and multipack formats.
KP Nuts make a perfect snack choice andare bursting with fibre and protein as well as vitamins and minerals. KP nutsare available in Salted, Dry Roast, Chilli and Salt & Vinegar varieties andcontinue to bring growth to the nuts category.
KP brands continue to have strongappeal with Irish consumers of all ages with a strong programme of innovationand marketing activity planned for the year ahead.
Crisps guaranteed to entertain
According to Tyrrells, the company is “obsessed with making the finestcrisps in the world”.
The group started crafting itscrisps on Tyrrells Court Farm in Herefordshire in 2002. Its soil is rich, redand fertile – perfect for growing high quality heritage varieties of potatoessuch as Lady Claire and Lady Rosetta. Tyrrells source all potatoes within a 50kmradius of its factory. The company is close to the whole process, from seedingto harvesting and finally creating its crisps in small batches, knowing thatquality will always be top notch – as evidenced by over 50 Gold Great Tasteawards.
Tyrells says: “We like to dothings our way, a little differently. Our packaging is entertaining anddifferent from the norm, for a modern way to communicate with consumers andbetter standout on shelves. The rather eccentric black and white photosdramatise the seasonings used across the range. And youwill find that our characters are very English but mostly a little eccentric,like our mature ladies with a truckle of cheddar cheese or bathers turning cartwheels on the beach”.
The brand is supported by strongdigital activities, especially an interactive and engaging website whereconsumers can discover more entertaining tips and enter many competitions.Facebook and Twitter also offer opportunities for the brand’s fans in Irelandto develop an engaging relationship with Tyrrells.
Tyrells is the fastest-growinghand-cooked crisps brand in the UK (Nielsen MAT, March 2012). Now that thecompany has teamed up with SHS Sales & Marketing in Ireland, Tyrrells canbe found in stores from Blanchardstown to Tralee and many other places besides.For more information, visit www.tyrrellscrisps.co.uk.
Truly sensational flavours in a nut
Walkers has used its expertise in flavour development tolaunch the new range of Walkers Sensations flavoured nuts which are now available. This represents a further expansion for the Sensations brand. WorthEUR*3 million* in Ireland, Sensations has a strong track record of deliveringcategory expansion through bold and exciting flavour innovation.
Sensations Nuts are ideal for the summer sharing occasionas flavoured nuts appeal to younger shoppers and nuts are synonymous withsocial sharing settings.
The core range consists of four variants inspired by tastesfrom around the world: Chinese Szechuan Pepper, Californian Honey and Salt,Mexican Smoked Chilli and Tuscan Sun Ripened Tomato and Basil.
To support the launch, Sensations is giving consumers thechance to be one of the first to try the new range and become an exclusiveSensations taster on its Facebook page. The launch will also be supported withimpactful in-store theatre and POS.
To keep up with all latest news and events visit theSensations Facebook page at www.facebook.com/SensationsIreland.
*(Source: Nielsen, Total Scantrack, MAT 22 Apr/12).
Lionel Messi joins winning team
The number one snack brand* and fastest growing Cola brand** join forces this June and look set to score sensational summer sales.
PepsiCo and Britvic are teaming up once again to bring asoft drink and snack partnership to the Irish market this June. This year’s powerful partnership is set to drive significant growth of linked-purchases ofthese loved
brands at a key volume period when you consider that 57% ofconsumers currently consume a salty snack and soft drink together despite only17% purchasing them together. This partnership features an on-pack promotion onDoritos offering consumers the chance to win a 3D TV every day for eight weeks coupled with the presence of world-wide football sensation Lionel Messi on bothDoritos and Pepsi Max throughout the period of May/June.
Launching in June it’s sure to be awinner for consumers and retailers alike with in-store promotions well placed to kick off the summer of sharing occasion.
Linked purchase deals will be running across 40g andsharing bags of Doritos alongside 500ml and 2L bottles of Pepsi Max during thisperiod to help retailers offer value and drive increased basket spend.
To find out more talk to your local PepsiCo and Britvicrepresentative.
*(Source: Nielsen Total Scantrack Value YTD 25th March2012)
**(Source: Nielsen Total Scantrack MAT 26th February 2012)
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