From next month, the manufacturer is rolling out Red Sauce and Brown Sauce versions of the savory snacks. Both will be available in a 40 g impulse bag with a recommended retail price of £0.59 ($0.83) and packs of five 25 g bags, priced £1.39 ($1.96).
Like the rest of the range, they are inspired by traditional flavors from British fish and chip take-out restaurants.
In a similar mechanic to promotions such as PepsiCo’s Do Us A Flavor activity under the Lays and Walkers brands, consumers will have 12 weeks to vote for their favorite flavor on Facebook, with the winner going on to become a permanent listing from July.
Flavor a key driver
“Flavor is a key driver to purchase for Fish ‘n’ Chips,” said Burton’s head of category and shopper management David Costello, citing Nielsen data for the 52 weeks ending February 27, 2016 that showed the brand was driving 23% of growth in the UK savory biscuits category.
“Red Sauce and Brown Sauce both performed extremely well in shopper research, with a high number of consumers indicating that they’d be likely to buy both products,” he added.
The launch and promotion is being supported with advertising, including a tie-up with radio station operator Wireless Group, with Fish ‘n’ Chips to get daily mentions as part of stations’ coverage of the Euro 2016 soccer tournament in June and July. Voters will also be entered into a prize draw, with £10,000 ($14,100) up for grabs.
Headquartered in St Albans, Burton’s Biscuit Company has manufacturing sites in Blackpool, Edinburgh and Llantarnam. In addition to Fish ‘n’ Chips, it produces sweet products including Maryland Cookies, Jammie Dodgers and Wagon Wheels, and makes Cadbury chocolate biscuits under licence from Mondelēz International.
Burton's blast from the past
Fish ‘n’ Chips was a popular snack brand in the UK in the 1980s but was axed more than a decade ago.
The brand was reintroduced to the market by Burton’s in 2014 after topping a poll in national newspaper The Sun as the retro snack readers most wanted to see back on shelf.
It had also previously featured in the Bring Back a Brand campaign run by UK trade magazine The Grocer, which is published by William Reed Business Media, owner of this site.