From truffle-flavoured hand-cooked crisps to lentil chips branded as ‘better for you‘, Britons are increasingly being tempted to pay up to £5 a bag for so-called premium snacks.
Ridge-cut, kettle-cooked or even made from beetroot, the average Briton gets through around 150 packets of crisps a year – totalling an estimated six billion bags nationwide.
And while classic brands still dominate supermarket shelves, a wave of upmarket rivals boasting single-origin potatoes, being fried in olive oil and including minimal additional ingredients have flooded the market.
On paper, it sounds like these crisps are healthy. But nutritionists warn these pricey alternatives with ‘artisanal’ credentials may be no healthier than a £1.20 packet of Walkers ready salted – despite their packaging suggesting otherwise.
‘Words like artisan, hand-cooked and premium tell us far more about branding than nutrition,’ Rhiannon Lambert, founder of the Rhitrition Clinic, told the Daily Mail.
Far from being a guilt-free indulgence, in many cases, shoppers are actually just paying a premium for clever marketing rather than any meaningful health benefit.
Registered dietitian Nichola Ludlam-Raine says that higher prices often reflect flavouring, texture, packaging and production methods – not significantly improved nutritional value.
So how do these trendy crisps really stack up – and are lentil, vegetable and olive oil varieties any better for you than a classic bag of ready salted? We asked the experts…
The market for ‘healthy’ crisps is booming, with flavours like sweet potato, parsnip and carrot filling supermarket shelves
Trendy kettle crisps
Also known as hand-cooked crisps, kettle crisps are often thought to be healthier than regular crisps due to their rustic appearance and premium price point.
However, from a nutritional standpoint, they are nearly identical with similar amounts of calories, fat, and carbohydrates per serving.
In the UK, Herefordshire-based Tyrrells are one of the most popular brands of hand-cooked, ‘posh’ crisps.
And while the brand has long marketed itself as a premium crisp brand with hand-cooked credentials, Ms Ludlam-Raine says the nutritional differences to a standard bag of crisps are modest.
Tyrrells Lightly Sea Salted crisps are minimally processed, with just three simple ingredients: potatoes, sunflower oil, and sea salt, but they are high in calories and fat.
A 40g bag contains around 207kcal and 11.7g fat – comparable to a bag of Walkers Ready Salted, which contains 207kcal and 12.4g of fat.
‘While some varieties may contain slightly fewer ingredients than heavily flavoured alternatives, the nutritional differences compared with standard crisps are modest, particularly regarding calories and total fat,’ Ms Ludlam-Raine says.
The difference between kettle crisps – made popular by the brand Kettle Foods – and regular crisps, like Walkers, is how they are made.
Herefordshire-based Tyrrells are one of the most popular brands of hand-cooked crisps
Standard crisps are made using a continuous conveyor-belt method, passed through an oil bath.
Kettle-cooked crisps are made in smaller batches, where the oil temperature drops as the potatoes are added, which causes them to absorb similar amounts of fat but results in a thicker, crunchier texture.
Many are cut more thickly, meaning they also absorb more oil during frying.
Vegetable and lentil chips
For many health-conscious crisp lovers, lentil, quinoa or vegetable chips seem like a healthier alternative to regular crisps.
But experts warn that the so-called ‘health halo’ can be misleading.
A recent Which? report found that some of these products rely heavily on salt and flavourings to make them palatable – putting them on par with classic junk food.
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Among the worst offenders was Proper Chips Lentil Chips Barbecue which scored comparably in a health ranking to favourites like Skips and Wotsits Really Cheesy.
Despite bold claims that the snacks are ‘better for you’, a standard 30g serving of Properchips Barbecue Lentil Chips contains roughly 140kcal and 5.8g of fat, including around 0.9g of saturated fat.
It also provides just under 3g of protein and less than 1g of fibre, alongside around 0.7 to 0.8g of salt.
Despite being marketed as lentil-based, they provide very little fibre and a comparable amount of salt to many traditional crisps.
Ms Lambert explains that lentil crisps are often promoted as higher in protein or fibre, but some brands are not dramatically different from traditional crisps and can contain longer ingredient lists and added flavourings.
Vegetable crisps fare only slightly better. They may offer marginally more fibre, especially varieties made from beetroot or parsnip, but they are still crisps – often fried – so they shouldn’t be seen as a substitute for vegetables.
Baked, popped or fried
The cooking method of crisps – whether fried, baked, or popped – can significantly alter their fat content, calorie density and overall crunch. However, experts warn the presumed benefit of ‘healthier’ cooking methods can be overstated.
In the recent Which? report, the consumer group found that ‘baked’ isn’t necessarily a guarantee of healthy crisps, while ‘fried’ doesn’t necessarily mean an unhealthier product.
For example, Mini Cheddars Original says: ‘Baked. Never fried!’ on the packaging, and Monster Munch and Wotsits say ‘Baked not fried’, even though they all scored poorly in the health ranking.
However, Twiglets, Sunbites and Walkers Oven Baked range are examples of healthier baked goods among the snacks Which? looked at.
When it comes to frying, companies such as Tyrrells use a special centrifuge (spinning) technique to remove excess oil, resulting in some fried products that achieve a pass.
Kate Winslet is pictured in 2003 eating a limited edition baked bean flavour of Walkers crisps
Another cooking technique used is ‘popping’ under heat and pressure rather than frying, which helps to reduce the fat and calorie content – for example, Popchips, which was a ‘pass’ in the health rating at 66 out of 100.
Even so, don’t assume that light and airy means healthier – for example, Skips, Quavers and Wotsits may melt in the mouth but they are calorie-dense and have little positive nutritional value to shout about.
Olive oil crisps
Another key selling point for premium brands is the use of extra virgin olive oil, widely associated with heart health.
But while olive oil is a staple of the Mediterranean diet, a style of eating linked with lower dementia and cancer rates and longer lives – frying potatoes in it doesn’t suddenly make crisps a ‘health food’, they remain high in fat, calories and often salt.
In fact, some artisanal varieties contain as much – or even more – fat than their cheaper counterparts.
One ultra-premium crisp brand which relies on its short ingredient list and use of high-quality virgin olive oil to command a high price tag is Bonilla a la Vista, which retails at £6.99 for a 150g bag.
A 30g serving of Bonilla a la Vista Olive Oil and Sea Salt crisps contains around 163kcal, 10.3g of fat, including 1.6g of saturated fat.
Prestige Bonilla a la Vista crisps are known for being fried exclusively in olive oil
In comparison, a 30g bag of Walkers Ready Salted contains around 156kcal, 9.3g of fat, including 0.7g of saturated fat.
Ms Ludlam-Raine says that while crisps made with olive oil may contain more monounsaturated fats, which are linked to heart health, many brands remain similar nutritionally to other crisps – being relatively high in calories and fat.
She adds that these crisps are still an energy-dense snack and should be viewed as a slightly improved version of a ‘treat’ food rather than a health food.
Sea salt vs ready salted
Salt content is another area where premium brands often imply superiority, particularly with labels such as ‘sea salt’. But nutritionally, there is little difference.
Part of the confusion lies in taste. Premium crisps often use larger salt crystals, which dissolve more slowly and can make them seem less salty, even when overall salt levels are comparable.
A 30g serving of high-end Torres Mediterranean Sea Salt Crisps, which retail at £4.99 for a 150g bag and also come in gourmet flavours such as caviar, black truffle and olive oil, contains around 0.27g of salt.
Bonilla a la Vista Olive Oil and Sea Salt crisps contain around 0.4g of salt – similar to a standard bag of Walkers Ready Salted.
The NHS recommends no more than 6g of salt a day, meaning one small bag accounts for roughly six per cent of the daily limit.
Both sea salt and table salt contain similar amounts of sodium by weight. Eating too much sodium is the main driver of health risks such as high blood pressure, meaning swapping one for the other offers no significant cardiovascular benefit.
Should you avoid regular crisps?
Experts agree that while some varieties may have a slight edge, no crisp can truly be considered ‘healthy’ – and price is no guarantee of a better choice.
‘If you enjoy premium crisps, there’s nothing wrong with choosing them,’ says Ms Lambert. ‘But most don’t offer dramatically different health benefits compared with standard options.’
Ms Ludlam-Raine adds that while crisps made with olive oil may contain slightly more beneficial fats, they are still high in calories, fat and salt.
‘For most people, what matters far more is how often you eat crisps and your overall diet – not whether you spend £1 or £5 a bag,’ she says.
In fact, some everyday options compare surprisingly well. Walkers Ready Salted, for example, has a relatively simple nutritional profile and often contains similar – or even lower – levels of fat, calories and salt than premium rivals.
In other words, your wallet may feel the difference – but your body probably won’t.
