Skips (snack)

Last updated

Skips
Skips Logo.png
Product type Tapioca (UK) and Maize (ROI)
Owner KP Snacks and Tayto (Republic of Ireland)
Country United Kingdom
Introduced1974
MarketsUnited Kingdom, Ireland
Website www.kpsnacks.com/our-brands/

Skips are a snack from the United Kingdom and Ireland which were first launched in 1957 in prawn cocktail flavour.

Contents

Skips are similar to Indonesian prawn crackers, although they are smaller and have a finer texture that makes them fizz and melt on the tongue. [1] [2] The snacks are made by KP Snacks under licence of the German snack food company Intersnack. [3] In the United Kingdom, they are made with tapioca starch and in Ireland with maize starch. Packets of Skips often have jokes or tongue twisters written on the back, which are aimed at children. Other flavours, such as pickled onion, Caribbean Spice curry (teal blue bag), Hot from Rio chilli (orange bag), Chinese spare rib (purple bag), a limited edition ReBoot Dots Doughnut (pink bag) and a ReBoot pizza flavour, Sweetcorn Relish (1985, [4] yellow bag) [5] and Sweet'n'Sour [6] have been available in the past. In 2002, KP launched two new variations of Skips intended to offer a 'unique taste sensation'. Buzz Boltz featured a 'crunch-melt' experience and Tickle Pickle delivered a 'puff-melt' sensation. [7] Both have since been discontinued.

Since early 2006, Skips have seen a 30% reduction in saturated fat and a 10% reduction in sodium and are made with 100% sunflower oil. Skips contain no artificial colours or flavourings. [8] [9]

In 2012, the brand and KP Snacks was sold by United Biscuits to German company Intersnack. [10]

In the Republic of Ireland, Skips are sold under the Tayto brand, which is also owned by Intersnack. [11]

Sponsorship and TV adverts

The children's theme has been extended in previous years with the sponsorship of Dragon's Fury, a popular attraction at Chessington World Of Adventures. [12]

Ex- EastEnders actress Daniela Denby-Ashe, who played Sarah Hills in the show and Janey Harper in My Family , appeared in a Skips advert as a teenager. [13] Also in the 1980s, wrestler Giant Haystacks appeared in a TV advert for Skips, with the closing line "Dainty aren't they?".

Action Biker, a mid-1980s budget computer game from Mastertronic, featured the Clumsy Colin character from the then-current Skips adverts, as well as KP Skips branding on the case artwork. [14]

Actor Craig Charles voiced a series of ads as an anthropomorphic tongue, meant to be the viewer's. The ads aired with the closing line "Stick a Skip on your tongue; it asked for it!"

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Potato chip</span> Deep-fried or baked thin slice of potato

A potato chip or crisp is a thin slice of potato that has been deep fried, baked, or air fried until crunchy. They are commonly served as a snack, side dish, or appetizer. The basic chips are cooked and salted; additional varieties are manufactured using various flavorings and ingredients including herbs, spices, cheeses, other natural flavors, artificial flavors, and additives.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hula Hoops</span> Snack food made from potatoes and corn

Hula Hoops are a snack food made out of potatoes and corn in the shape of short, hollow cylinders. They were created by KP Snacks in the United Kingdom in 1973. As well as being sold in the UK, they are also sold in the Republic of Ireland, New Zealand and South Africa. Hula Hoops are also sold in Belgium under the "Croky" tag, made in the UK but marketed and distributed from Mouscron, Belgium. In France, Hula Hoops are produced by Vico.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Quavers</span> British crisp brand

Quavers are a deep-fried potato-based British snack food. Launched in the UK in 1968, they were originally made by Smith's in their factory on Newark Road in the Bracebridge area of Lincoln. Since 1997 they have been produced by Walkers. The name comes from the musical note, quaver.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pot Noodle</span> Brand of instant noodle snack foods

Pot Noodle is a brand of instant noodle snack foods from the United Kingdom, available in a selection of flavours and varieties. This dehydrated food consists of noodles, assorted dried vegetables and flavouring powder. It is prepared by adding boiling water, which rapidly softens the noodles and dissolves the powdered sauce.

Tayto Snacks is a crisp and popcorn manufacturer in Ireland, founded by Joe Murphy in May 1954 and owned by German snack food company Intersnack. It owns several brands, including its leading product of Tayto Crisps for which it invented the first flavoured crisp production process. The first seasoned crisps produced were Cheese & Onion. Companies worldwide sought to buy the rights to Tayto's technique. Tayto crisps are a cultural phenomenon throughout Ireland, so much so that in November 2010, Tayto opened their own theme park called "Tayto Park" near Ashbourne.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Golden Wonder</span> British snack food company

Golden Wonder is a British company that manufactures snack foods, most notably crisps. These include Ringos, Golden Wonder and Transform-A-Snack. Since 2006, it has been a wholly owned subsidiary of the Northern Irish company Tayto, purchased from administration.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Smith's Snackfood Company</span> Snack food manufacturing company

The Smith's Snackfood Company is a British-Australian snack food brand owned by the American multinational food, snack, and beverage corporation PepsiCo. It is best known for its brand of potato crisps. The company was founded by Frank Smith and Jim Viney in the United Kingdom in 1920 as Smith's Potato Crisps Ltd, originally packaging a twist of salt with its crisps in greaseproof paper bags which were sold around London. The dominant brand in the UK until the 1960s when Golden Wonder took over with Cheese & Onion, Smith's countered by creating Salt & Vinegar flavour which was launched nationally in 1967.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tayto (Northern Ireland)</span> Manufacturer of crisps and corn snacks

Tayto Group Limited is a manufacturer of crisps and corn snacks based in Tandragee, County Armagh, Northern Ireland. They describe themselves as the third largest snack manufacturer in the United Kingdom.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Monster Munch</span> Baked corn snack

Monster Munch are a British baked corn snack created by Smiths in 1977 and manufactured by Walkers. They are aimed at children and widely consumed in the United Kingdom. Flavours include Roast Beef, Pickled Onion and Sweet and Spicy Flamin' Hot.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nik Naks (British snack)</span> Type of extruded corn snack

Nik Naks are a type of extruded corn snack previously manufactured by Sooner Foods in Scunthorpe, England. The snack was introduced as Crunchy Wotsits, with a cheese flavour, in 1981. The brand was purchased by Golden Wonder in 1987 and then sold to United Biscuits in 2006. In December 2012, United Biscuits agreed to sell the KP Snacks brand, including Nik Naks, to the European Intersnack Group. As of 2021, Nik Naks are made in three flavours with different colour packaging for each.

KP Snacks Limited is a British producer of branded and own-label maize-, potato-, and nut-based snacks, "Choc Dips" and nuts. The KP stands for “Kenyon Produce”. The company is based in Slough, England.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Space Raiders (snack food)</span> Brand of snack food

Space Raiders are a British brand of corn and wheat snacks made by KP Snacks. Introduced in 1987, the alien shaped snacks are currently available in Beef, Pickled Onion, Saucy BBQ and Spicy flavours.

Bluebird Foods Ltd is a New Zealand division of the U.S.-based PepsiCo corporation, that manufactures snack foods. All snacks are manufactured at the Bluebird Foods factory in Wiri, Auckland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">BN (biscuit)</span> Franco-British baked foodstuff brand

BN Biscuits is a biscuit brand originally hailing from France, consisting of 2 golden-baked biscuits sandwiched together with a filling, originally chocolate-flavoured. It was launched in 1932, acquired by United Biscuits in 1998, and relaunched in September 2000.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">McCoy's (crisp)</span> UK crisps brand

McCoy's is a brand of crinkle-cut crisps made in the United Kingdom by KP Snacks. It was first produced in 1985 and is marketed under the slogan "The Real McCoy's – Accept No Imitations", exploiting the Scottish idiom "the real McCoy". McCoy's is the third-biggest brand in the bagged crisps market, with 5 million packets consumed each week and nearly a third of all UK households consuming the product. It was once promoted by United Biscuits "as the only overtly male-targeted crisp brand".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Walkers (snack foods)</span> British snack food manufacturer

Walkers Snack Foods Limited, trading as Walkers, is a British snack food manufacturer mainly operating in the UK and Ireland. The company is best known for manufacturing potato crisps and other snack foods. In 2013, it held 56% of the British crisp market. Walkers was founded in 1948 in Leicester, England, by Henry Walker. The Walkers family sold the business in 1970 to American food producer, Standard Brands. In 1989, Walkers was acquired by PepsiCo, owners of US snack brand Frito-Lay.

Wheat Crunchies are a crisp wheat snack produced under the British snack producer KP Snacks Ltd. They come in several flavours including Spicy Tomato, Crispy Bacon and Cheddar & Onion. A regular multipack bag contains 20g and a normal retail pack contains 30g.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Prawn cracker</span> Indonesian crackers made of prawn and tapioca flour

Prawn crackers are a deep-fried snack made from starch and prawn. They are a common snack food in Southeast Asian cuisine, but they are most closely associated with Indonesia. They have also been adapted into East Asian cuisines, where the similar Japanese kappa ebisen (かっぱえびせん) and Korean saeukkang are popular snacks.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pom-Bear</span> Snack food brand

Pom-Bear is a teddy bear shaped potato chip sold under the Chio brand. They are produced by Intersnack in Doetinchem, the Netherlands and are sold in over 30 European countries. They were first introduced in 1987 in Germany where they are known as Pom-Bär and were later introduced to the UK in 1990.

References

  1. "Skips". United ~Biscuits. Archived from the original on 21 July 2011. Retrieved 15 April 2011.
  2. "ALDI - Skips Salt & Vinegar". Archived from the original on 23 February 2014. Retrieved 11 February 2014.
  3. Company, Diamond Lead (1983). "Diamond's Economic Journal Industria, Volume 13". Diamond's Economic Journal Industria. 13: 26 via Google Books.{{cite journal}}: |last= has generic name (help)
  4. KP Foods Ltd (July 1985). "Catch a free packet of KP Skips". Smash Hits. 30: 64 via Internet Archive.
  5. "Did Skips ever come in a Sweetcorn & Relish flavour?". Archived from the original on 7 April 2012. Retrieved 15 November 2011.
  6. "A Brief History of Crisps: do us a flavour - Saga". www.saga.co.uk. Archived from the original on 20 August 2019. Retrieved 20 August 2019.
  7. "KP puts £4m into 'taste sensation' Skips products". www.campaignlive.co.uk. Archived from the original on 15 July 2023. Retrieved 20 August 2019.
  8. "UBUK reveals portfolio overhaul for 2006". Talking Retail. 21 December 2005. Archived from the original on 19 August 2019. Retrieved 19 August 2019.
  9. "Skips Prawn Cocktail 6x13.1g". www.sainsburys.co.uk. Archived from the original on 15 July 2023. Retrieved 27 April 2020.
  10. "KP Nuts sold to German company". 5 December 2012. Archived from the original on 19 August 2019. Retrieved 19 August 2019.
  11. "Tayto Snack Brands". www.taytosnacks.ie. Archived from the original on 3 February 2020. Retrieved 27 April 2020.
  12. "Here Comes The Fury: A Trip Report". Theme Park Insider. Archived from the original on 10 April 2006. Retrieved 19 August 2019.
  13. McVities Skips Crisps Advert Rugrats 1996, archived from the original on 21 December 2021, retrieved 19 August 2019
  14. "Action Biker (Action)". ataricave.com. Archived from the original on 16 April 2021. Retrieved 19 August 2019.