Britain’s biggest crisp brand Walkers has launched a new Hot Honey Ice flavour across UK supermarkets from 12 January as part of the largest rebrand in its 80-year history, the company has announced, The WP Times reports.
The rollout includes new packaging, a redesigned sun-inspired logo and a nationwide Golden Potato prize campaign, as Walkers seeks to reposition its core range around bold, globally inspired flavours rather than traditional British staples, in response to changing consumer tastes and intensifying competition in the grocery sector.
How the UK crisp market is forcing Walkers to change strategy
For more than 50 years, Walkers has dominated the British crisp aisle through a small group of mass-market bestsellers — Ready Salted, Cheese & Onion and Salt & Vinegar. These flavours still generate the bulk of volume, but supermarket sales data shows their growth has levelled off, while almost all category expansion is now coming from premium, international and novelty products.
At the same time, consumer behaviour is shifting, particularly among under-40s. Younger shoppers are buying fewer traditional crisps and more street-food-inspired snacks, flavoured nuts, protein products and imported brands — segments that grow faster and command higher prices.
This has created a strategic squeeze for Walkers. The company still controls the largest share of shelf space in UK supermarkets, but the fastest-growing demand is no longer anchored in its traditional flavour base. New products such as Hot Honey Ice crisps are therefore designed not to defend the old market, but to capture growth in the parts of the aisle where consumer spending is now moving.
Why hot honey is reshaping the UK crisp market
Hot honey — the blend of chilli heat and honey sweetness — is not a passing novelty. It is one of the most commercially successful flavour trends to emerge from the United States in the past decade, moving rapidly from pizza and fried chicken into sauces, snacks and beverages.
In the UK, the trend has been driven by New York-style pizza chains, fried chicken operators and London’s fast-casual food scene, where hot honey has become a premium add-on that consumers are willing to pay extra for. Walkers says UK searches for “hot honey” have increased by 174% over three years, indicating that the flavour has crossed from niche trend into mass-market awareness.
The addition of an “ice” cooling finish reflects a second major trend already established in energy drinks, chewing gum and confectionery: hot-cold contrast flavours that stimulate repeat purchasing by increasing sensory impact. For Walkers, this is not about seasoning crisps — it is about designing flavour profiles that sustain demand in a crowded retail environment.
The economics of the Hot Honey Ice launch
Hot Honey Ice is priced at £2.15 for a six-pack multipack, placing it in the mass-market family segment rather than the premium tier. This is a deliberate strategy. Walkers is not testing a niche concept — it is attempting to reset the baseline of the UK crisp aisle, making global, flavour-led products part of everyday shopping.
To drive rapid trial, the company has added one of its most aggressive promotions in recent years: the Golden Potatocampaign, which includes more than 500,000 prizes and five £10,000 cash awards. From a commercial perspective, this means Walkers is not merely introducing a new flavour — it is underwriting demand.
In supermarkets, where weekly sales velocity determines shelf space, that level of promotional investment can decide whether a product becomes a permanent listing or disappears after a single season. In the £4bn UK snack market, that distinction can be worth hundreds of millions of pounds.
Why the Walkers rebrand matters for the UK crisp market
The packaging overhaul is as commercially significant as the launch of Hot Honey Ice crisps. Walkers is rolling out a sun-inspired logo, stronger on-pack references to British potatoes, and the signature of founder Henry Walker as part of the biggest Walkers rebrand in 80 years. This is not cosmetic branding. It is a market-defence strategy in the UK crisp market.
As supermarkets increase the promotion of own-label crisps and international snack brands expand their UK presence, Walkers is reinforcing its position as Britain’s leading crisp brand. The message is clear: Walkers is not an imported trend label, but a nationally rooted grocery staple competing for shelf dominance.
At the same time, the Flavours of the World range — including Hot Honey Ice, Sticky Teriyaki and Masala Chicken— allows Walkers to compete directly with global flavour-led snack brands while protecting its core identity. The strategy is to be British in origin but global in taste, a positioning designed to defend share against imported and premium rivals.
The rebrand is being backed by a nationwide multimedia advertising campaign from mid-February, underlining how central the launch is to Walkers’ 2026 commercial strategy and to the wider UK snacks sector.
If Hot Honey Ice crisps gain traction, the move is likely to accelerate a broader shift across the UK grocery marketaway from heritage crisp flavours towards international, layered and sensory-driven products, particularly among younger shoppers, who account for most category growth.
For Walkers, the financial stakes are high. When the market leader changes direction, retailer shelf layouts, competitor strategies and pricing structures follow. In a £4bn UK snack market, even one successful flavour can redirect hundreds of millions of pounds in annual sales across the supermarket aisle.
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