McCoy potato ridges

Iceland takes McCoy’s and Hula Hoops into frozen potato market

Iceland has expanded bagged snacks brands Hula Hoops and McCoy’s into the frozen potato products market.

The retailer worked with KP Snacks, which owns the two brands, to launch five new SKUs: McCoy’s Ridge-Cut Round Chips in Salted and Cheddar & Onion flavours and Hula Hoops potato rings in Original, Barbecue Beef and cheese & Onion flavours.

The products, which are exclusive to Iceland, started rolling out this month with an rsp of £1.50 and are available in most Iceland stores.

The retailer worked hard with its supplier and KP Snacks to ensure the products matched the flavours of the original bagged snacks, said Iceland buying director Nigel Broadhurst. He would not reveal who manufactured the products, but the packaging states they are made in Germany and Belgium.

“Our job is to innovate and give shoppers new and different reasons to visit our stores,” said Broadhurst. “We are always looking at how we can make frozen food more exciting, and these products have ticked all the boxes for us.”

The frozen potato lines had only been marketed in-store so far, but were already proving popular and generated “very positive” reaction from consumers, Broadhurst said.

The licensing activity was likely to be a one-off, he added, and was not looking for other brands to extend into frozen.

Among Iceland’s exclusive product lines is a range of Gregg’s savoury bakes, pies and slices, as well as sweet lattices, which have been a huge success since their 2011 launch.