Snacks focus: A better class of crisp

Related tags Potato

In the summer of 2002, William Chase made a dramatic decision - a decision that would change the very nature of his business and send shockwaves...

In the summer of 2002, William Chase made a dramatic decision - a decision that would change the very nature of his business and send shockwaves through the crisp marketplace.

For years, the farmer had been mulling over what to do with his potato crops after supermarkets turned their backs on the varieties grown on Tyrrells Court farm in Leominster, Hereford.

"In the beginning of the 1990s, we sold to supermarkets," William says. "But, like all good things, it came to an end." The answer came in crisps.

So began a journey that made Tyrrells synonymous with British crisps made in small batches using artisan methods.

The company now sells around four million packets of crisps - which include such niche flavours as Thai curry and coriander and jalapeno pepper & lemon - nationwide each week, and distributes directly to around 8,000 pubs. Moving upmarket

Other crisp manufacturers have been persuaded by Tyrrells' success that putting out messages about sourcing, and focusing on relatively refined snacks, was the way to go. Tyrrells' launch in 2002 was followed almost immediately by Walkers releasing the similarly conceptualised Sensations, and more recently marketing its crisps as 100 per cent British.

The crunch for William came when he travelled to America to source the specialist equipment he would use to make the crisps. "It was hard to find in the UK," he says. "No one was willing to tell us anything because they considered us rivals. At the time, there were no other small crisp manufacturers."

Having got his gear back to Hereford, the next step was to tell his workforce they would no longer spend their days with their hands in soil, but salting and flavouring delicately sliced potatoes. "That was the hardest thing," he says, "taking all these people who had been picking spuds to work in a factory. But somehow it gelled.

"We still use that system today. Everything is done on the farm, from producing the potatoes onwards. When making new flavours, we get everyone on the floor to taste them and endorse the product before it goes out."Quality over quantity

For William, the transformation of the farm has been all about developing an altogether better crisp and tapping into a growing market, one that has found a firm foothold in pubs.

He says: "We find it hard to believe the massive growth in the pub sector, where everyone is talking about provenance and pedigree. We are in that age now where people find it very important where their food comes from. People want a genuine story, not a twee marketing version of it."

Tyrrells crisps, according to William, use potatoes grown for quality, rather than quantity - old-fashioned varieties such as Record, Lady Rosetta and Lady Claire. These have half the yield of modern varieties.

They use all natural flavours. The salt comes from Malvern, the black pepper from India, "but we never put too much flavour on them because the spud is the main product", says William. "It's not a piece of cardboard."

The Tyrells founder's potato empire does not stop at crisps. Up next is the ambitious launch of a Tyrrells-branded vodka. It will be made from excess potatoes, and will "take spirits back to its roots", according to William. With a small still already in place, the vodka will launch in October.

Rest assured, that is one part of Tyrrells Court that will be off limits to the children from the 80 schools given guided tours of the farm each year.

Related topics News

Property of the week

Follow us

Pub Trade Guides

View more