Quavers

This article is about the snack food. For the type of musical note, see quaver. For the song, see Quavers (song).

Quavers are a British deep-fried potato-based snack food produced by Walkers, originally launched by Smiths in 1968. The name comes from the musical note, quaver, as both the note and the crisp have a curly shape.

Quavers

Product type	Crisps
Owner	Walkers
Country	United Kingdom
Introduced	1968; 57 years ago (1968)
Markets	United Kingdom, Ireland
Previous owners	Smiths

History

Quavers were originally made by Smiths in their factory on Newark Road in the Bracebridge area of Lincoln in 1968. It launched with the advertising slogan "you get a lovely lot of Quavers in a bag", described as "curly potato puffs".^[1] The brand was originally sold in cheese and smoky bacon flavours, but over the years flavours like Spicy Beef, Sweet and Sour, Prawn Cocktail, and Ketchup were also part of the range.^{[citation needed]}

The packaging brand name had changed from Smiths to Walkers in 1993.^[2] The same year, a Salt and Vinegar flavour was added to the range.^[3]

In 1996, a Tangy Tomato flavour was added to the range. By 1997, the brand was part of Walkers' short-lived "Snackshack" range,^[4] and was relaunched twice in April 1998 and in March 1999. In October 1998, the first relaunch coincided with the return of Prawn Cocktail with a new recipe (as such, was branded as "New") replacing Tangy Tomato, while the second relaunch coincided with a newly refreshed Cheese flavour.^{[citation needed]}

In August 2002, a "Streaky Bacon" flavour was added to the range, which contained pink and brown pieces, that resembled bacon.^[5] In September 2004, Ghost-shaped Cheese Quavers were released for Halloween, and returned in September 2005.^[6]

In February 2007, Walkers changed the packaging for Quavers, Wotsits, Squares, French Fries and Monster Munch. This packaging reflected the usage of sunseed oil, which was used in all products. The Multipack bags were in a different layout, being in landscape orientation. Quavers' logo was changed slightly, and the flavours remained the same.^[7]

In December 2009, Quavers, Wotsits, Squares, and French Fries all changed their packaging again to coincide with a "99 Calories or Less" range with a consumers' focus on "New Year New Me". ^[8]

The product line went on to introduce two other flavours, prawn cocktail and salt and vinegar.^[7] These were discontinued in 2012. Ketchup and sweet and sour flavours were also introduced, but for a limited time only and are no longer available. In January 2021, Quavers returned two long-lost flavours (prawn cocktail and salt & vinegar) by popular demand.^[9]

In December 2020, Walkers announced that Prawn Cocktail and Salt and Vinegar would return to shelves in February 2021 due to popular demand.^[9][10]

Description

Cheese flavour Quavers

The primary ingredient in Quavers is potato starch. 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).^{[citation needed]}

A one pack (16.4 g) serving of regular Quavers contains 88 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. Quavers have 86 calories in their Cheese flavour and 83 in the salt and vinegar variety.^{[citation needed]}

Varieties

Main range

• Cheese
• Prawn cocktail
• Salt and Vinegar (discontinued)
• BBQ Sauce
• Bacon (discontinued)
• Cheese and onion (discontinued)
• Chinese Spicy Beef (discontinued)
• Red Leicester

Limited edition

• Ketchup (discontinued)
• Sweet and sour (discontinued)