Nostalgia fuels bids to bring back discontinued UK crisps

Crisp makers have in recent years faced repeated calls from nostalgic snack fans to bring back discontinued flavours, as online petitions and social media groups press companies to reintroduce varieties last seen decades ago. The trend has produced some successful limited runs, but many once-popular flavours remain off shelves, prompting debates about commercial viability and consumer demand across the UK snack market.

The modern flavoured crisp era began in the 1950s when Tayto founder Joe "Spud" Murphy devised a way to add cheese and onion seasoning during production, opening the door to a proliferation of tastes. Since then manufacturers have introduced dozens of novel and seasonal flavours, but many have been withdrawn as sales waned or brands changed hands. When removals provoke strong public reaction, companies sometimes respond with short-term revivals of retro flavours, including recent reintroductions of BBQ Walkers and pickled onion Discos.

Several discontinued varieties attract particularly vocal followings. Brannigans roast beef mustard, a product associated with the 1980s brand, was discontinued by KP Snacks in 2020. KP Snacks described the withdrawal as a difficult...