Alex Brittain: the Proper Snacks CEO betting big on fibremaxxing

As such, Proper Corn, which already boasts a retail sales value of £34.9m [NIQ 52 w/e 6 September 2025], is perfectly positioned to tap the growing fibremaxxing trend, he says.

For the uninitiated, ‘fibremaxxing’ is Gen Z’s term for adding more fibre to one’s diet. In recent months, it has taken off on social media, encouraging retailers to prioritise ranging high-fibre snacks, says Brittain.

“We’re in conversations with retailers about fibre events, which is something I haven’t seen before. I believe we’re at a tipping point, where you’ve started to get influential voices like Jamie Oliver saying this is something we need to fix as a nation.”

ONS figures show there’s a market for fibrous foods, with 96% of us in the UK not getting enough of it [June 2025]. However, communicating nutritional benefits in impulse categories is often difficult for suppliers.

As Brittain points out, choices made in the CSN aisle “are driven by emotion and, therefore, we need to lead with taste and enjoyment”.

Brittain’s admiration of Proper began when he joined Walkers Snacks as VP GM in 2017. That was when “I really started to take notice of Proper as a competitor, trying to study and understand what they were doing that was delivering such strong results”.

He found it interesting that one of Proper’s founders, Cassandra Stavrou, has a background in advertising, “so the business has really been built around its in-house creative team”. Its marketing strategy “has always been inspired by the world of fashion and beauty”, which made it “particularly relevant with younger consumers” from the outset.

After leading Walkers from declines to four years of consecutive growth, Brittain left parent company PepsiCo to join US-based consumer biotech startup Perfect Day in 2021. At the time, Stavrou and her co-founder Ryan Kohn had just completed a major exit, selling a majority stake to private equity firm Exponent.

Under Exponent’s ownership, Proper was combined with Eat Real to form Warp (We Are Real and Proper) Snacks. Led by Chris Schulze-Melander, Warp had an “exceptional” start to trading, but progress had stalled slightly by the time Brittain took the reins in 2023.

Warp quickly returned to growth in 2024, with turnover up 8.3% to £70.7m, according to accounts filed at Companies House [y/e 29 December 2024]. In the same year, the company opened its £20m Nuneaton factory, and increased efficiencies helped narrow its losses to £34.9m from £45.1m the previous year.

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Today, the Nuneaton site manufactures 19 million bags of snacks per month. “We’re the fastest growing of the top five snacks manufacturers,” says Brittain. “I think the opportunity for the business is to play a much bigger role in the total £5bn snacking category.”

This ambition was reflected in the company’s rebrand from Warp to Proper Snacks in March. “Warp was a functional description of two brands, whereas the move to Proper Snacks is a statement to say: ‘There are snacks, and then there are proper snacks. We’re the company bringing proper snacks to consumers.’”

Brittain’s confidence appears justified. While Proper Corn lost £523.5k of its value on volumes down 1.8% in the year to 6 September 2025, its better-for-you crisps brand, Proper Chips, more than made up for it, bringing in an extra £3.6m on volumes up 10.9% [NIQ]. Despite only debuting in 2019, Proper Chips is now worth £30m in the UK, compared with Proper Corn’s £34.9m.

Nut disruption

Disrupting the nuts aisle is next on the agenda. In August, Proper unveiled flavoured, crunchy corn range, Crunch Corn, which launched with Sea Salt, Crispy Chilli Oil, Barbecue and Maple Bacon variants.

“We’re really excited about the potential of that platform to recruit new consumers and tap into different occasions,” Brittain says, adding that Proper Chips’ success shows Proper is “very much a masterbrand, which can travel across different subcategories”.

As Proper plots its next brand extension in the UK, Brittain also has his sights set on new markets. “The big focus for us in the past 18 months has been building a business in Benelux, and we’re really pleased with the progress we’re making there, growing 50% this year.”

According to Brittain, a key part of that success has been adapting Proper’s portfolio to meet local preferences. “In Benelux, the big flavours are salt, paprika and cheese,” he says. Hence the launches of Smoky & Sweet Paprika Popcorn in August and All the Cheese Lentil Chips and Mature Cheddar Popcorn in April.

What’s happened to Eat Real?

In contrast, Eat Real has struggled to find its feet in recent years, undergoing three redesigns since 2022, and it appears to have taken a backseat.

Brittain says that’s not the case. “When we talk about Proper Snacks, that 100% encompasses Eat Real,” he insists. “I think Eat Real can play an interesting role, because the free-from aisle sometimes lacks inspiration, and I really believe Eat Real can inspire people.”

It unveiled its “boldest” redesign yet in April. Intended to evoke “the world of cookbooks and chefs”, food photography was added to pack designs and five new variants were launched.

“The thought was: ‘How do we inspire people to try something other than a potato crisp?’ When you reach for a good cookbook, sometimes that inspires you to try something different,” Brittain explains.

To bolster its culinary credentials, Eat Real teamed up on a campaign with vegetarian cook and food writer Anna Jones. It also partnered with Belazu to launch limited-edition Spicy Rose Harissa & Creamy Yoghurt Hummus Chips in the summer.

The repositioning paid off. According to Brittain, Eat Real’s value rocketed by 24% in six months, which “gives us real confidence we’ve nailed it”.

So, after two years of “laying the foundations”, Brittain is “ready to start telling our story”.

“By the end of 2026, everything we sell will come with a positive nutritional benefit,” he promises.