Snacks: Snack with jackets

Related tags Mccoy Potato

Everyone needs to wear a few extra layers to stave off the cold at this time of year, and it would seem that this applies even to that most perennial...

Everyone needs to wear a few extra layers to stave off the cold at this time of year, and it would seem that this applies even to that most perennial of pub snacks, the crisp. McCoy's has unveiled a series of seasonal limited edition flavours in its Jackets range, crisps made from potatoes with their skins left on.

The crisps not only mimic the humble jacket spud, they mimic its classic fillings too. Licensees can stock up on McCoy's Jackets in sour cream and chive, melted cheese and bacon, and chilli beef flavours.

However, just as you wouldn't expect to see customers arriving in thick coats in July, don't go looking for these wintry crisps in mid-summer. They will be available strictly as limited editions, for a short period of time.

So why would McCoy's want to limit itself to a type of crisp so dependent on the changes of the seasons, and just how does a crisp with the jackets still intact get made?

One reason for Jackets being available on a special edition basis is that they rely on the right kind of potato crop, usually only available in a window between approximately November and early in the New Year.

The crops are purchased during this period and the crisps can only be produced while the potatoes are in an aptly 'premium' condition, explains Mark Sugden, director of customer marketing for McCoy's parent company United Biscuits.

"By the time new potatoes come around, we don't believe we can supply them with sufficient quality," Mark explains.

McCoy's has built a policy of releasing special edition crisps for the pub marketplace in its drive to re-position the brand at a more premium end of the category. As Mark says, "it has evolved from being a 'core' brand to having a 'special' element".

A 'Pub Grub' series of crisp flavours was launched by McCoy's last year, which included the flavours cheese and pickle, sausage and onion gravy, and steak and ale pie. The new Jackets, then, are the latest attempt to snare pub customers that lust after a crisp that stands out from its starchy brethren. "Jackets fit very much with how McCoy's seeks to position itself," says Mark. "It suits a gastro-pub environment."

When thinking up ideas for crisps to appeal to pub customers, McCoy's hit upon the jacket as a much-loved staple on pub menus, and decided crisps could do their own version.

"If you think about pub food, the jacket potato has long been established as a snack to be ordered at the bar," says Mark. "This creates a point of difference for customers."

How they're made

The next issue was how to transform that idea into reality - the practical aspect of turning the crop of seasonal potatoes into a crisp with the skin left on.

First, the potatoes are graded for a good level of skin and for size. They are then washed before being cooked using McCoy's patented recipe and cut. Following this they are seasoned with the jacket potato-inspired flavours and then sealed for freshness to ensure that they keep their taste and texture.

The process essentially bypasses the section of machinery that, on any other style of crisp, would remove the skins - meaning the punter, upon opening the packet, has a visible and flavoured skin on a thicker-than-average crisp.

That can't be a bad thing for any lover of the humble jacket spud.

What Jacket special editions should McCoy's release next?

We at Publican Towers have racked our brains for possible flavours for the next round of McCoy's jackets.

How about some of these fillings, all of which can commonly be found adorning jacket potatoes?