KP Snacks drives category growth to win Grocer Gold supplier award

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KP Snacks - NEW IMAGE

Winner: KP Snacks

KP Snacks is the growth engine of the bagged snacks market. It’s by no means the biggest player, holding just 17.9% share, but it’s punchingg well above its weight in terms of adding value. The business contributed 59% of absolute value growth in the £5.3bn category last year, with strong brands playing a vital role in that performance. In 2025, Pom-Bear became the category’s fastest-growing £35m-plus brand, while Hula Hoops contributed more to total category growth than any other name in bagged snacks.

Those performances are all part of a carefully considered strategy that extends across the entire business. KP snacks – which employs 2,400 colleagues across seven production sites – has been driving growth through innovation, brand activations and customer-centric marketing.

On the innovation front, bold new flavours – such as Tyrrells Furrows Beef Brisket & Black Peppercorn, McCoy’s Secret Burger Sauce and Butterkist Fizzafying Lemonade – ensured KP brands stood out in a crowded market.

McCoy’s first sharing bags played to the growth in larger sharing formats, shelf-ready Packaging was developed for Hula Hoops and KP Nuts, NPD such as Nik Naks Cheese & Tangy and Discos Pickled Onion catered to the growing nostalgia trend, and the launch of Popchips Peri Peri Chicken and Chargrilled Steak met rising demand for healthier snacking.

Targeted and innovative activations also played a part in grabbing shopper attention. KP capitalised on cultural moments with activity such as a Tyrrells Honey Glazed Glorious Gammon limited edition to tie up with the release of Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale. Butterkist partnered with Wicked: For Good in an activation that reinforced the film-going appeal of its ‘For Every Movie Moment’ campaign.

This customer-facing work has been underpinned by efforts behind the scenes to be a responsible, future-proofed business. KP is aiming for 55% of its sales to come from non-HFSS lines, or 100kcal or lower, by 2030. It has also brought out recyclable and reduced plastic packaging and runs regenerative agriculture programmes for its UK potato growers.

On the colleague side, it is supporting its workforce through wellbeing kiosks, recognition and rewards programmes, a DEI strategy and volunteering assistance.

Looking ahead, KP is only anticipating further growth. The company has invested a multimillion-pound sum into its Ashby and Teesside sites, which will ramp up capacity and capability in 2026–27.

The judges were impressed by KP as an excellent all-round performer, praising the business for devising individual strategies for each of its brands, all underpinned by “an impressive understanding of consumer and shopper insight. These are the fundamentals of a good consumer-driven company.”.