FWD partner: A tasty year for Seabrook Crisps

Acquisition and investment have seen challenger brand Seabrook Crisps grow and expand its offering

It’s a big year for Seabrook Crisps as it celebrates its 80th anniversary and reaps the benefits of a £12m investment, which has seen capacity at its Bradford-based facility increase by 40%.

Rich in heritage, Seabrook Crisps was established in 1945 in Bradford when fish and chip shop owner Charles Brook began frying crisps for his customers to enjoy while queuing for their Friday night suppers. When a photo development order was mislabelled, changing C. Brook to Seabrook, the name took hold and Seabrook Crisps was born.

In 2018, Seabrook was acquired by global snacks business Calbee, Japan’s number-one savoury snack producer and the fourth largest in the world.

Since joining forces, the Calbee UK business and team have grown from strength to strength; Seabrook has doubled in value to almost £100m RSV, becoming the UK’s number-two crisp brand [1]. Expanding into snacks, the business is on a journey to become a cross-category masterbrand with significant scale.

Jon Wood, Group Managing Director, comments: “Our success since joining Calbee is the result of brand investment and expanding the breadth and capacity of our product offering. This has enabled us to consistently outperform the category in a highly competitive and challenging market.”

SUCCESS

Seabrook’s success stems from great taste at an affordable price. Champion products that are proving popular in meeting retailer and consumer needs include Seabrook Crinkle Cut Crisps price-marked variety multipack.

Stephen Boyd, Business Manager – Head of Impulse, explains: “Our price-marked multipack is a top seller; it is a great product for convenience stores. For the shopper, it provides reliable value, offers a mix of flavours and the reassurance of the price-mark flash.”

Building on this success, Seabrook will relaunch its variety pack in a new 6-pack, with a £1.75 RRP price-mark.

GROWTH

While Seabrook’s growth started with core crisps, the brand has evolved its offering into new formats and occasions, meeting more consumer needs and reaching more snacking moments.

Stephen adds: “Seabrook crinkle cut crisps provide a staple for those that want an affordable product from a brand they know and trust. Then add to this the new crisps and snacks that we launch throughout the year, and you have a powerful combination.”

Supporting the trends for fiercely spicy snacks, Seabrook Crisps launched its hugely popular Fire Eaters in a 65g bag with a price-mark of £1.25. Part of Seabrook’s Loaded sharing range, Fire Eaters are thick, tasty, ridge cut crisps that are available in two variants – Smokehouse Cayenne and Trinidad Scorpion Chilli flavours.

Stephen concludes: “We know how important margin is to the retailer, so we focus on products that make sense commercially. We offer single-serve or grab bag formats for shoppers buying to go, as well as snacks to be consumed in home or carried out as part of a lunchbox.

“As a trusted supplier in an ever-changing market, we aim to remain consistent in our commitment to quality but also to flex our range with new and exciting products and flavours that keep fixtures exciting and fresh.”

For more information visit calbee.co.uk and seabrookcrisps.com

For regular updates follow Calbee Group UK Ltd and Seabrook Crisps on LinkedIn, and @Seabrook Crisps on Facebook

(Source: [1] Kantar 52 w/e data to 04.12.24)