Quavers

Quavers are a British snack, originally made by Smiths, and now produced by Walkers. Walkers, part of the Pepsico family, purchased the Quavers brand in 1997 where it became one of the Frito Lay International brand names.[1]

Contents

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History

Quavers were launched in 1968. Packaging described them as "curly potato puffs"[2]

In February 2007 Quavers were re-launched in new packaging (along with other Walkers brands such as Wotsits and Monster Munch) to coincide with the new usage of Sunseed oil in their ingredients.[3] In 2009 Quavers, Squares, Wotsits and French Fries changed their packaging again because of a reduction in calories. In 2011, Quavers packaging to a brighter bag colour and with the Walkers logo on the packets again. Still based in Leicester, Walkers joined the PepsiCo family in 1989.[3]

Ingredients

The primary ingredient in Quavers is reconstituted potatoes. They are deep fried to give a snack with a similar texture to Krupuk (prawn crackers), but have a different flavour and are smaller with a curled-up rectangle shape (similar in cross-section to a quaver). Originally only available in cheese and smoky bacon flavours, the product line now contains three flavours: cheese, prawn cocktail and salt and vinegar.[3] A ketchup flavour was also introduced, but for a limited time only and this is no longer available.

Nutrition

A one pack (16.4 g) serving of regular Quavers contains 87 calories, of which 44 are from fat. Quavers contain a mixture of fats (4.9g): saturated fat 0.4g, polyunsaturated fat 0.6g and monounsaturated fat 3.8g. The sodium content is 170mg.[4] Quavers have 88 calories in their Cheese flavour and 86 in the salt and vinegar variety.

Advertising

The former mascot of Quavers was a cartoon dog named 'Colin Curly', voiced by Lenny Henry in television advertising. Colin also appeared in two Amiga and Atari ST puzzle games: Pushover (1992) and its sequel, One Step Beyond (1993), both published by Ocean.

References

  1. ^ "Brands under Frito Lay". Pepsico International. http://www.pepsico.com/Brands/Frito_Lay-Brands.html. Retrieved 2011-03-12. 
  2. ^ Opie, Robert The 1970s Scrapbook
  3. ^ a b c "Walkers". Pepsico UK. http://www.pepsico.co.uk/walkers-crisps. Retrieved 2011-03-12. 
  4. ^ "Calorie Count". http://caloriecount.about.com/calories-walkers-quavers-cheese-i77067. Retrieved 2011-03-12.