Wotsits facts for kids
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| Owner | Walkers |
|---|---|
| Country | UK |
| Markets | UK |
| Previous owners | Golden Wonder |
| Website | walkers.co.uk |
Wotsits are a super popular British snack! They are crunchy corn puffs with a yummy cheese flavour. Walkers makes them, and Walkers is part of a bigger company called PepsiCo. Wotsits are famous for being light and airy, and they have a bright orange colour.
Wotsits first came out in the 1970s, made by a company called Golden Wonder. Even though cheese is the most famous flavour, other exciting flavours have been made over the years. People sometimes compare Wotsits to other puffed corn snacks, like Cheetos from the United States. But Wotsits have their own special crunch and taste!
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Wotsits: Flavours and Fun Shapes
Wotsits have had many different flavours and even some cool shapes over the years. Let's explore how they've changed!
Wotsits Under Golden Wonder
When Golden Wonder first made Wotsits, you could find them in flavours like Cheesy, Crispy Beef, and Spicy Tomato. Crispy Beef later changed its name to Barbecue Beef and then BBQ Beef. The Cheese & Bacon and Spicy Tomato flavours stopped being made in 1993. A Prawn Cocktail flavour came out in February 1998, replacing Smoky Bacon.
Golden Wonder also tried out different sizes and shapes for Wotsits.
- In February 1995, they launched "Long Wotsits." These were longer versions of the snack. The packet even asked, "How long is your Wotsit?"
- "Weenie Wotsits" arrived in November 1999. These were smaller and promoted as "Little Wotsits for weenie mouths!"
- In May 2000, "Wotsits Wafflers" came out. These were big, crunchy, and shaped like waffles!
- "Wotsits Mealtime Potato Shapes" were introduced in November 2000. You could bake these in the oven.
In February 2001, Golden Wonder teamed up with the BBC for a Robot Wars promotion. Special Wotsits packs included winning leaflets for Robot Wars. This promotion included Wotsits, Wotsits Wafflers, and Nik Naks.
"Whopping Wotsits" were launched in August 2001. These were even longer snacks, advertised as "Wot a Whopper!" In September 2001, Golden Wonder had a "Footie Flikka" promotion. It included twenty Footie Flikkas (small football-themed items) and an album to collect them. The Mealtime Potato Shapes were also sold at McDonald's restaurants. Golden Wonder updated the look of Wotsits in October 2001.
In November 2001, "Wotsits Micro Snacks" were introduced. These were microwaveable versions of the snack, promising a "Deliciously hot cheesy snack." They also released "Wotsits Wafflers Cheesy Potato Shapes" for the oven.
In March 2002, Golden Wonder launched "Wotsits Goalden Balls." These were football-shaped Wotsits, just in time for the 2002 FIFA World Cup. They were made to compete with Walkers' own "Footballs" snack. In April 2002, Golden Wonder worked with TV stars Ant & Dec for a "Goalden Shootout" promotion. Special packs of Nik Naks, Wotsits, Wotsits Wafflers, and Goalden Balls had codes on the back for this game.
Wotsits Under Walkers
In May 2002, Golden Wonder announced that Wotsits would be sold to their rival, Walkers. Walkers had tried selling the Cheetos brand in the UK before, but it wasn't very successful. There were ideas to change Wotsits to Cheetos, but Walkers decided to keep the Wotsits name. They gave Wotsits a new look instead.
On January 3, 2003, Walkers relaunched Wotsits with a fresh new design and advertisements. They kept the popular flavours and varieties like Wotsits Wafflers and Weenie Wotsits from Golden Wonder. They also added a new "Mild Cheese" flavour.
On April 1, 2004, Walkers launched a new "Flamin' Hot" flavour. This replaced the "BBQ Beef" flavour and was advertised as a "HOT NEW FLAVOUR!" On July 26, 2004, Walkers introduced "Wotsits Twisted." These were twisted corn snacks available in BBQ and Really Cheesy flavours.
In February 2007, Walkers updated the packaging for many of their snacks, including Wotsits. This new packaging showed that they were using Sunseed Oil in their products. In May 2008, Wotsits changed from being fried to being baked, making them a bit different.
In December 2009, Wotsits and other Walkers snacks changed their packaging again. This was part of a "99 Calories or Less" range. At that time, Wotsits multipack bags had 95 calories, and standard bags had 99 calories. By January 2012, the Walkers logo was back on the packets. For a while, Wotsits were mainly sold in just the Really Cheesy flavour.
In August 2012, Wotsits Wafflers came back, this time in Bacon flavour. In May 2013, they were relaunched simply as "Wafflers" under the Smiths brand. Wotsits Twisted also returned, just called "Twisted."
A special limited edition called Zombie Fingers was sold for Halloween in September 2013. These were Flamin' Hot flavour and were longer and curlier than regular Wotsits. They have returned for Halloween many times since then.
On January 9, 2020, Walkers announced that Flamin' Hot and BBQ Beef (now called "Sizzlin' Steak") would return because people really wanted them back. Around the same time, "Wotsits Giants" were introduced. These are bigger pieces of corn, double the size of regular Wotsits. They come in Really Cheesy and Flamin' Hot flavours.
On February 18, 2022, it was announced that the Prawn Cocktail flavour would return as a Wotsits Giants flavour in March. This was also due to popular demand. At the same time, "Crunchy Wotsits" were introduced in Really Cheesy and Flamin' Hot flavours.
In June 2023, a "Wotsits Really Cheesy" flavour of Walkers Crisps was released for a short time.
In March 2024, the Flamin' Hot flavour for all Wotsits was renamed "Sweet and Spicy Flamin' Hot." This was to avoid confusion with Walkers' "Extra Flamin' Hot" range. A new Wotsits Crunchy flavour was also released for the "Extra Flamin' Hot" range. On July 1, 2024, Walkers announced their "Yummy With" range of lower-salt snacks made with chickpea flour. Two new Wotsits flavours, Crispy Bacon and Cheese Toastie, are part of this healthier range.
Wotsits: Advertising and Fun Facts
Wotsits were one of the first brands to put cool things inside their snack packs.
- In March 1996, they put "Pogs" inside.
- In November 1997, they included Merlin football stickers and other fun items.
From 1994 to 2002, Wotsits used the catchy slogan "you only get a whoosh with a Wotsit." Wotsits packets also used to have a joke or a fun fact on the back!
Wotsits were one of the sponsors of the TV show SMTV Live. They sponsored the show from January 4, 2003, until it ended on December 27, 2003. Other Walkers snacks like Monster Munch and Squares also sponsored the show.
