McCoys Muchos TV

Source: KP Snacks

The snacks initially launched in January 2019, supported by a £4m campaign

McCoy’s has discontinued its Mexican-inspired Muchos, but looks set to launch a new crisps line.

Muchos disappeared from supermarkets last month, having been touted as the “biggest-ever” launch from McCoy’s in 2019.

A spokeswoman for owner KP Snacks confirmed Muchos had been withdrawn to make way for additional flavours and formats.

The snacks initially launched in January 2019, supported by a £4m campaign. They were billed as the result of more than a year’s development, having been due to launch in early 2018 –  but this date was delayed after the crisps were found to break under their own weight.

KP Snacks said it was “always looking to excite consumers” and had “exciting plans in the pipeline”.

Those plans could include a ‘McCoy’s Epic Eats’ line. A new pack design featuring the words was recently registered as a trademark with the International Property Office under class 29, covering extruded potato products; class 30, accounting for cereal products; and class 31, featuring unprocessed nuts.

The crisps giant confirmed the activity was linked to an upcoming launch, but declined to comment further.

In 2021, McCoy’s was one of the fastest-growing brands in the savoury snacks category, up 15.3% to £17.8m [NielsenIQ 52 w/e 29 January 2022].

However, sales of Muchos appeared to be going the other way. Over that period, the value of the sub-brand fell from £11.5m to £8.9m, according to NielsenIQ data.