Pure Bite new look

Pure Bite has unveiled a new look for its grab-and-go packs

Northern Ireland’s Tayto Group has entered the free-from snacking space with the acquisition of Yorkshire startup Bite UK for an undisclosed sum.

The Golden Wonder owner planned to transform the renamed Bite UK Snacks into “the UK’s leading healthy snacks business in a sector now thought to be worth around £200m” it announced today (11 February).

Bite’s free-from range of Pure Bite low-calorie rice and nut clusters joins the likes of Real Crisps, Mr Porky pork scratchings and Portlebay popcorn in Tayto’s portfolio, and will be distributed through the family-owned snacking giant’s global network.

However, Bite will continue to operate from its Huddersfield base, with founder Jason Bull staying on as MD to drive growth and NPD. Pure Bite was set to be “everywhere in 2019” he said. “The support Tayto Group can provide is unprecedented. The potential for growth is huge, and their expertise will help us to take healthy snacking into the mainstream and deliver our vision of being the UK’s leading supplier of healthy snacks.”

Pure Bite launched in August 2017 with a five-strong lineup of dairy and gluten-free options including Blueberry & Cranberry popped rice clusters, Hot & Spicy nut clusters, and Coconut with Strawberry & Gojiberry coconut clusters. The brand – which has secured new listings with the likes of Nisa, McColl’s, Applegreen and Scotmid Co-op – today unveiled a fresh look across its 20g and 30g grab-and-go packs.

More Pure Bite variants and a new snacking range were in the works, Bull told The Grocer, while his business was also developing products for Yo Sushi.

Tayto Group sales director John McQuaid said he was “impressed with the outstanding health and taste credentials that Pure Bite provides. The ability to deliver both propositions at a competitive price to retailers and trade sets the Pure Bite brand apart from other competitors.”