Walkers is launching a range of crinkle-cut crisps next month, in a move the PepsiCo brand claimed was the biggest category launch of the past five years.

The new Crinkles will be available in four flavours: Simply Sea Salted; Cheddar & Onion; Salt & Malt Vinegar; and Sweet Chilli. They will be priced at 43p for a 32g bag and £1.59 for multi-packs of six.

The launch will be backed by a multimillion-pound marketing campaign including TV ads featuring Walkers stalwart Gary Lineker.

“Crinkle-cut is an underdeveloped opportunity in the UK,” said Walkers marketing director Miranda Sambles,

Meanwhile, the brand’s Clash of the Comics promotion for Comic Relief saw ‘Stephen Fry-Up’ emerge as the most popular flavour. Walkers said the limited-edition range of flavours inspired by comedians had raised more than £1m for Red Nose Day 2011.

Read more
PepsiCo admits it’ll be hard to cut salt further (14 February 2011)
PepsiCo admits slow packaging progress (22 January 2011)
Top Products Survey 2010: Bagged snacks (18 December 2010)
Ad of the Week: Lineker wins again from Walkers’ embarrassment of Richie (4 September 2010)