Tyrrells axes iconic crisp flavour after 23 years on store shelves

Snack giant Tyrrells has announced it will axe its vegetable crisps range, pulling the once-iconic savoury treat from stores.

Parent company KP Snacks confirmed that, following a ‘sustained decline in demand and the loss of key export volumes’, it has taken the decision to close its factory in Uttoxeter, Staffordshire, where Tyrrells vegetable crisps are produced.

KP Snacks acquired the hand-cooked crisp brand Tyrrells from The Hershey Company back in 2018, marking a new chapter for the premium snack label.

However, amid ongoing market pressures, Tyrrells has been forced to scale back one of its most recognisable lines.

First hitting stores in 2003, the brand’s vegetable crisps feature a range of hand-cooked, gluten-free, and vegan-friendly root vegetable mixes seasoned primarily with sea salt. One of the most popular bags includes a mix of parsnip, beetroot, and carrot flavours.

For some, they’ve become a cupboard staple. But it looks like now the hunt will officially be on to find the best alternative option.

Tyrrells was first launched by Herefordshire potato farmer William Chase in 2002.

Known for both its taste and quality ingredients, Tyrrells carved a spot for itself in the market and quickly started racking up accolades.

In fact, the crisp brand regularly cleans up at the Great Taste Awards, the world’s largest, most respected food accreditation scheme – organised by the Guild of Fine Food.

With over 69 gold awards, Tyrrells has bagged more wins than any other premium crisp brand.

And unsurprisingly, everyone’s favourite summer snack, the signature Sea Salt & Cider Vinegar crisps, has won eight gold medals over 14 years.

Following the news, a spokesperson from Tyrrells made sure to stress that there are no planned changes to its other potato crisp ranges, assuring customers that the existing lines are ‘not affected and continue to perform strongly’.

However, that does little to ease the nerves of the workers currently stationed at the factory in Uttoxeter.

Hey, foodies! Add us as a Preferred Source

At Metro Food, we’re here to bring you all the latest foodie news, delicious recipes, restaurant reviews, and cooking tips. As a loyal reader and a part of our vibrant community, we want to make sure you never miss our articles when searching for stories

Click here and tick Metro.co.uk to ensure you see stories from us first in Google Search.

The company has stated: ‘While no final decisions have been made, we appreciate this is an uncertain time for our colleagues at Uttoxeter and we are supporting them throughout the consultation process. 

‘Should the proposal progress, we will explore any ways to reduce or avoid redundancies where possible.’

Social media users online have hypothesised that one of the reasons demand for the vegetable crisp line may have dwindled is due to the hefty price tag.

‘I love them but they’re too pricey’

Everyone has a favourite vegetable crisp, mine has personally always been beetroot.

However, with more and more alternative options popping up on store shelves, Tyrrell’s premium cost may have officially pushed people away.

At £2.75 for a 125g bag, Tyrrells sits at the top end of the vegetable crisp market.

In comparison, an 100g bag of Marks & Spencer’s own brand of Vegetable Crisps, made up of a similar beetroot, parsnip, and sweet potato mix, is only £1.85.

Or there’s the Tesco Finest Root Vegetable with Sea Salt crisps, an 125g bag of those will set you back £2.40 – every little helps!

Following the announcement, fans flooded social media with their thoughts and suggestions. And as it turns out, this particular line of snacks really gets people heated.

But while some people focused on the contents of the bag, with one user on Reddit sharing: ‘I wish they would just do a bag of beetroot crisps, I stopped buying the veg crisps because they were 90% parsnips and I found them too hard for my liking,’ others explained that they’d been put off by the price.

One customer wrote: ‘I absolutely love the vegetable crisps but they keep getting more expensive and seem to be increasingly full of beetroot and grease instead of the parsnip crisps that I actually want.

‘The supermarket ones are cheaper and the same quality so I don’t feel like it’s a huge loss really. It feels planned if anything.’

Another added: ‘They want three quid for a bag and are surprised that demand is decreasing…?’

With there still strong interest in the company’s other lines, it’s a shame that we’re having to say goodbye to the beloved beetroot crisp.

Time to try M&S’s alternative.

MORE: Are M&S’s new ‘Easter eggs of the year’ actually worth £18 each?

MORE: Lidl just brought back its ‘best ever’ bakery item — and it’s only 89p

MORE: Lidl just unveiled new bakery-inspired Easter eggs — including a croissant