The reason your favourite snacks get discontinued REVEALED according to insiders from Mars and Walkers
EVERYONE has a discontinued snack that they wish would be brought back.
But how do snack giants like Mars and Walkers decide which ones should axed and when to bring them back? We spoke to insiders from both firms to find out.
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Steph Herbert, head of marketing at Walkers, says a lot of products get discontinued due to limited shelf space in supermarkets.
"The reality is that within shops and the customers that we work with, they only hold a certain number of products on their shelves at any one time," she said.
That means that when a new flavour is brought in, often something else might have to go.
"We know that our fans' taste buds are always evolving, so we opt to make changes to our line-up and we'll maybe swap one flavour in for another flavour," she said.
The taste experts at big brands will always be looking at what trends are emerging and what customers might want, and they'll ask supermarkets for their recommendations too.
Lizzy Dinsdale, pricipal chocolate scientist at Mars, is responsible for looking at flavour trends across the world and coming up with new chocolates for the likes of M&M's, Mars and Galaxy.
She says that not only do brands look at what's popular right now but they'll also be trying to predict what customers will want to eat in five and even 10 years' time.
Still, there's some products that have always stood the test of time.
The iconic Mars Bar was first made in 1932 - and to this day it's still produced in the same factory in Slough.
Now three million of the caramel and nougat-filled bars are made every day.
Meanwhile Walkers first brought in its Cheese and Onion flavour back in the 1950s, and Prawn Cocktail first hit shelves in the 70s.
Top discontinued products
Here are our top discontinued snacks - including picks from our team...
Fabulous Bakin' Boys Cupcakes
Consumer reporter Emily Mee says: "It was always a good day when I spotted these in my lunch box at school. Putting a layer of chocolate on top of a vanilla cupcake is a simple idea but a genius one. I would pay good money to try these again..."
Ready Salted Chipsticks
Head of Consumer Tara Evans says: "Ready Salted Chipsticks. Why did they get rid of this classic flavour? Some people think ready salted is boring - but why mess with a classic? I often feel taunted when I see the salt and vinegar version in shops."
Coco Pops Rocks
Consumer news editor Ellie Smitherman says: "No idea whose bright idea it was to get rid of these, but it was possibly one of the worst moves in cereal history. Coco Pops Straws, too! If I had known the last time I'd have one would be the last time, I'd have savoured it far more."
Tooti Frooties
Senior consumer reporter James Flanders says: "Tooty Frooties were a chewy blast of childhood joy. Scrapped after 50 years, they were Britain's alternative to Skittles - and in an age obsessed with nostalgia, bringing them back just makes sense. Lots of dupes can be picked up at budget supermarkets but they just don't taste the same."
White Maltesers
While the milk chocolate version is still going strong, White Chocolate Maltesers were pulled from shelves in 2014. Mars said it was a "difficult decision" at the time, and fans still post comments on its social media pages calling for it to come back.
Heinz Toast Toppers
Out of all the discontinued products, this is one of the ones we see the most calls for to come back. The creamy cans came in a variety of flavours like chicken and mushroom or cheese and ham. They were binned in 2015 after delighting shoppers for decades.
Cadbury Spira
Another of the regular calls we see is for the Cadbury Spira to return. The chocolate featured twin bars in each pack which were formed into a spiral shape, with six hollow tubes running through each one.
Bringing it back
Every now and then, the powers that be decide to bring back discontinued favourites - and they're often a hit with shoppers.
You may remember that Mars brought back its cult favourite Crispy Rolls this year, after they had disappeared from shelves in 2022.
They were initially brought back to supermarkets for a week in February, before later being quietly added to Morrisons' meal deal offering.
Mars said at the time it wanted to tap into the growing demand for nostalgic products.
Chocolate scientist Lizzy revealed this came after an online petition to bring the product back hit over 8,000 signatures.
"I think that's the most demand for a product I've seen in a while!" she said.
For Walkers, their most popular recent relaunch has been the iconic Worcester Sauce crisp.
The flavour had been discontinued in 2023 - much to the disappointment of fans who said the brand had made a "grave error".
Steph admitted crisp fans "feel very attached to Worcester Sauce" and the flavour has a "real loyal fan base".
That's why this year the flavour landed back on shelves - this time as part of a collaboration with Lea & Perrins Worcester Sauce.
Can YOU help bring back a much-loved product?
So do shoppers have any power to help bring back a product? Lizzy says: "At Mars, bringing back an old favourite is all about listening to our consumers.
"When we see a clear desire from people for a certain product to return, whether on social media or via a petition, we take note.
"We get hundreds of requests from customers asking us to bring back their favourite products, and listening to consumer feedback is key for us."
The company has a dedicated social media team who keep on top of what people are saying online.
They'll scan social media posts, comments on the brand's social media, and even petitions.
Lizzy says she can't give away what she's currently working on, but "a personal dream would be for the Galaxy Truffle from Celebrations to make a return".
Meanwhile, Steph says Walkers is contacted "more than you'd probably think" about bringing back old flavours, and every comment from fans gets read by the team.
"In the last two years, we've had requests to bring back over 60 different types of flavours of Walkers," she says.
If you're wanting your favourite flavour back, she says your best bet is to contact the Walkers customer service team or comment on its social media posts.
Decisions will usually be based around how much demand there is for a product to come back, but Steph says another factor at play is what trends there are generally.
Explaining why Worcester Sauce was brought back - along with the Heinz Tomato Ketchup flavour - she said: "So with those flavours in particular, we saw based on our market data that condiment flavours were growing in popularity.
"And then coupled with that, they were our top most requested flavours that were reported back to us by consumer services so it was a no-brainer to bring them back into the range."
She said there's no plans currently to bring back any other discontinued flavours but "never say never".
The science behind new flavours
You might like to think of product developers testing out random flavours until something works, but in reality the ideas stage is much more data-driven.
Lizzy explains that Mars has product development, sensory and human intelligence experts who are constantly keeping an eye on new trends.
"We focus on taste as the number one priority, but we also keep an eye out and respond to trends like healthier snacks with lower sugar, nutritional benefits, and natural ingredients," she says.
She's often developing recipes and testing them out, juggling about five different projects at any one time.
There is no guarantee any of these will end up landing on supermarket shelves, but one of her most recent creations that has reached shoppers is the Maltesers Bunnies Popcorn flavour.
"People love indulgence and nostalgic treats that bring joy and memories, but we know that innovation and new flavour combinations continue to interest people," she said.
Walkers is also looking at what's trending and what types of flavours are selling.
It groups its flavours into "flavour buckets" like spicy, meaty and cheesy, and if it sees a particular flavour bucket doing well then it might focus more on that type of product.
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