Forget fancy chorizo-flavoured crisps – supermarket sales data shows cheap, retro brands such as Frazzles and Nik Naks are making a comeback.
According to new figures, sales of some of these old favourites have soared by almost 50 per cent in the past year. And fans will be pleased to know that not only are they more attractively priced, but they’re also good news for your waistline.
A MailOnline analysis has revealed that many retro crisps are surprisingly low in calories, salt and saturated fat, reflecting a wider trend of health improvements in the crisps market in an effort to reduce salt and fat levels.
The average packet of crisps on sale in the UK today contains about half the amount of salt it did in 1991, according to the Potato Processors Association.
Here, dieticians tell MailOnline which pack is the healthiest of all.
Frazzels (97 cal), Pom Bears (66 cal) and Monster Munch (98 cal) are some examples of low-calorie retro crisps.
Although many brands of crisps are loaded with salt, high in fat and calories, many of these nostalgic packets contain less than 100 calories and some are even low in salt and saturated fat.
Pom Bears, Quavers and Wotsits are the best crunchy snack options, Dr Duane Mellor, a dietitian and spokesperson for the British Dietetic Association, told MailOnline.
She explains that these brands come in small bags and are therefore smaller portions and lower in calories, salt and saturated fat.
“Although some chips are labeled as low in calories or fat, it appears that the weight of the bag is the key to whether a snack contains less fat, calories and salt,” she said.
“Perhaps not surprisingly, packets weighing less than 16 grams tend to contain less fat and salt,” he added.
While she stresses that these snacks won’t be the “healthiest” as a piece of fruit will always be a better option, smaller, lighter bags are a better option if you’re looking for a salty snack.
The lowest calorie retro crisps are the pickled onion flavoured Space Raiders (left), with a 13g bag containing 63 calories – about the same amount of calories as an apple. The Pom Bear Original crisps (right) are also low in calories, with a 13g bag containing just 66 calories.
But many of the popular potato chip brands from the ’90s came in lightweight, small-portion bags.
The lowest calorie retro crisps are the Space Raiders pickled onion flavoured crisps, which come in a 13g bag and contain 63 calories, about the same amount of calories as an apple.
Pom Bear Original Crisps are also low in calories – a 13g bag contains just 66 calories.
Ready-made salted crisps also have just 78 calories per 18g bag and cheese-flavoured Wotsits, weighing 16.5g, contain 82 calories.
Similarly, a bag of salt and vinegar squares weighing just 22g contains 97 calories, and the same goes for a 20g bag of Frazzles.
The cheese flavoured Wotsits, which weigh 16.5g, contain 82 calories (left). The Cheese Quavers, which come in a 16g bag, have just 86 calories (right).
To put that into perspective, you’d need to eat about five bags of Monster Munch (98 calories), Frazzles, or Squares, to eat roughly the equivalent calories of a large order of McDonald’s fries (444 calories).
Not all ’90s revivals are better for your waistline, though.
Eating a 35g bag of Skips Shrimp Cocktail flavour will set you back 191 calories, a 45g bag of Nice ‘N’ Spicy Nik Naks Retro 255 calories and a pack of Salt & Vinegar Discs contains 262 calories in a 50g bag.
It is recommended that the average woman consume 2,000 calories a day to maintain a healthy weight and 2,500 for the typical man.
Eating more calories than you burn will cause you to gain weight over time.Being obese may increase the risk of developing type 2 diabetes diabetesheart disease, cancer and strokes.
A 20g bag of Frazzles (left) contains 97 calories. Ready-made salted crisps also have just 78 calories per 18g bag. Crisps (right), Squares, Space Raiders and Pom Bears all contain just 0.3g of saturated fat per bag.
Vanessa Richardson, from the UK Potato Processors Association, said crisps had undergone “significant reformulation” to make them healthier over the past 30 years.
She said: ‘I don’t think we’d be so bold as to claim that crisps and savoury snacks are ‘healthy’ per se, but they have certainly been the subject of significant reformulation work in recent years to improve their nutritional profiles and make them healthier.
‘We advocate responsible consumption of snacks and consider crisps to be a treat that should be consumed in moderation and as part of a healthy, balanced diet.’
It’s not just about the calories: Companies have cracked down on salt, cutting 53 percent of the salt in chips since 1991, according to 2022 data from the Snack, Nut and Crisp Manufatuers Association and The Composition of Food, 1991 by McCance and Widdowson.
Currently, crisps provide less than 2 per cent of an adult’s dietary salt intake, with the biggest contributors being meat and meat products at 26 per cent, followed by bread at 15 per cent, according to the UK Potato Processors Association.
Salty snacks also only contribute 3 percent of an adult’s daily fat intake, according to the 2016 to 2019 National Diet and Nutrition Survey.
However, around three-quarters of the salt in our diet comes from packaged foods, the NHS warns.
Eating more than the 6g of salt a day recommended by the NHS can lead to high blood pressure, which increases the risk of heart attacks and strokes.
Adults should consume less than 6 g of salt and 20 g of saturated fat for women or 30 g for men per day.
Pom Bears are the healthier option if you want crisps with less salt – a 13g bag contains 0.17g, or just a pinch, of salt.
By comparison, a bag of Nice ‘N’ Spicy Nik Naks contains 0.81g of salt, about four times the amount contained in a bag of Pom Bears.
Wotsits, which contain 0.26g of salt, and Monster Munch, which contains 0.31g, also have less salt than Skips Prawn Cocktail, which has 0.77g.
However, a 32.5g bag of Walker’s Ready Salted Crisps contains almost half the amount of salt as a packet of Skips – just 0.46g.
As for saturated fat, potato chips, Squares, Space Raiders and Pom Bears contain just 0.3 g per bag.
For comparison, a bag of Nik Naks contains 1.5g, while a 32.5g bag of Walker’s Ready Salted Crisps contains 0.8g.
A serving of large fries from McDonalds has 2g of saturated fat.
According to the National Health Service, a diet containing too much saturated fat can raise cholesterol, which increases the risk of heart disease. Salty snacks, cakes and pastries are high in saturated fat.