A new brand of lentil-based snacks by Mackie’s Crisps is making waves in the market as they appear on shelves in hundreds of Lidl stores.
Innovators at a top Scottish crisps brand have successfully developed a further new creation and secured a top listing in the process.
Mackie’s Crisps has brought to market two flavours of “Lentil Waves” – a new product made possible by its top-secret process also used to “air pop” whole vegetables for its Wholesums range.
It means that unlike other lentil-based snacks on the market, they contain 50% less fat as a result. They also contain 3g of fibre per serving, and are a good source of protein and low in saturated fat.
Mackie’s Crisps Lentil Waves are available as 80g share bags in two flavours: salt and vinegar and barbecue. The vegan and gluten-free products have debuted in 760 Lidl stores across the UK.
James Taylor, commercial director with the Perthshire family business, said: “It’s important to us that we always push to deliver flavours and products that excite – and often surprise – our customers.
“Healthier snacking is an important and growing market. But we didn’t want to enter with a product that, like many so-called healthy snacks, is deceiving.
More fibre
“That’s why we’ve invested to ensure that our Lentil Waves, like our breakthrough “Wholesums” products, contain more of the “health-giving” main ingredients that they purport to, giving them more fibre and less fat.
“Taste is also of fundamental importance to us – and both flavours of the Lentil Waves give a satisfying and recognisable taste that will surprise and delight. In short, they’re really good!”
Healthy snacking is a growing market throughout the UK with The Grocer reporting that pre-Covid, “31% of snacking occasions were healthy”.
Mackie’s own research backed this up, with a majority of respondents keen for Mackie’s to provide its signature quality and taste to the market.
Mackie’s Crisps, which is renowned for its range of thick and ridge-cut crisps is eyeing further expansion in this space over the coming years, with Lentil Waves and Wholesums just the start of that process.
The crisps are made at the fourth-generation Taylor farm in Errol, Perthshire, renowned for its potatoes, where the produce is made “from plough to pack”.
The crisps brand and Mackie’s at Taypack as a business were launched in 2009 as the result of a joint-venture between potato farmers the Taylor family and Aberdeenshire’s Mackie’s of Scotland, which is renowned for its ice cream and chocolate.