Retro Crisps Like Frazzles And Chipsticks Making A Comeback With UK Shoppers

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The big winner is firm Smiths, founded in 1920. Its crispy bacon-flavoured Frazzles are up 48%, while salty Chipsticks are 42% more in demand said Ocado. KP's Skips, first launched in the UK in 1974, are 42% more popular while other offerings from the company such as Discos and NikNaks seeing a 15 and 6% rise respectively.

Ocado said the trend for retro crisps had led to multipack sales generally increasing by 20% over the past year. Social media is believed to be behind the trend, with young people videoing themselves trying the flavours for the first time and uploading them on TikTok where they have been watched hundreds of thousands of times.

Meanwhile recipes on TikTok and other sites such as Instagram have started incorporating retro crisps, such as adding Frazzles to burgers, hotdogs and sandwiches. Previously, the shift had been towards more 'gourmet' crisp styles, for example Torres Selecta who produce more artisanal flavours such as olive oil, Iberian ham and black truffle.

There have also been experimental flavours from the major retailers, such as M⁘S releasing a winter berries and sparkling prosecco flavour.

Nathan Hawker, a buyer at Ocado Retail, said: ⁘There's been loads of innovation within the category in recent years, including a huge growth in demand for posh flavours and gourmet styles. But with many millennials now shopping for their own families, it looks like they are rediscovering their old lunchbox loves, while the wave of Nineties nostalgia on social media is also helping to make old-school crisps cool.⁘