From now on, Walkers will be frying its crisps in sunseed oil, claimed to be one of the healthiest oils there is. The oil is made from a special type of sunflower seed is naturally high in mono-saturates and lower in saturated fat than olive oil. This change will add an additional 拢6m a year in production costs.
The packaging has also been overhauled with a redesigned logo and the new recipe being flagged up.
The company is launching the new crisps with an advertising campaign in the national press, in the form of a letter about the new oil from the managing director Neil Campbell. This will then be followed in March with a new TV ad campaign featuring Gary Lineker.
Media is bought through media agency OMD and Walkers retains Abbott Mead Vickers BBDO for its creative work.
Campbell said: "Our customers are now looking for snacks that do not just taste great but are also better for them. We have reduced the saturated fat and salt levels in our crisps to make healthier crisps without compromising on taste at all."
The saturated fat will be cut by 70% to less than 1g, and salt reduced to less than half a gramme per standard bag, 8% of the recommended 6g daily allowance.
Walkers and other snack food companies have come under pressure from the Food Standards Agency to reduce the amount of salt and saturated fat people consume because of fears over the growing level of obesity, especially among children.
Walkers has been singled out for criticism because of its marketing campaigns, starring the former footballer Gary Lineker, leading to calls for a ban on the use of celebrities in junk-food advertising.
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