Monster Munch
Monster Munch is a baked corn snack aimed at children, mostly consumed in the United Kingdom. Flavours include Roast Beef, Pickled Onion and Flamin' Hot.
History
Smiths Monster Munch (1977–1995)
Monster Munch crisps were launched in Britain in 1977 by Smiths. Originally called "The Prime Monster" (a play on "The Prime Minister", and as part of a wider campaign), the decision was taken to rename the snack "Monster Munch" in 1978. Advertised as "The Biggest Snack Pennies Can Buy" – in reference to the large size of the crisps – each pack featured a different monster on the front of the packet.
The snack was supported by a "Monster Munch Club", whose members received a "Monster Munch Munchers" membership pack which included a membership card, pen, several story books, and a story tape which included six "tall stories" and accompanying songs.
Original '80s monsters
By the late 1980s there were four main monsters featured on the packaging, although originally a total of six featured in the advertising.
| Monster | Description | Flavour |
|---|---|---|
| Pink Monster | A tall, pink, gangly creature with a floppy tongue | Roast Beef |
| Blue Monster | A hat-wearing blue creature with floppy-ears and four arms | Smokey Bacon |
| Yellow Monster | A yellow, one-eyed creature with a red nose | Saucy/Cheese and Onion |
| Orange Monster | A fat, orange creature with pink hair | Pickled Onion |
Flavours
Monster Munch was available in a variety of flavours over the years including Roast Beef, Pickled Onion, Saucy Tomato, Bacon, Cheese & Onion, King Prawn and Salt & Vinegar. Pickled Onion has remained in the selection throughout the years, with Roast Beef appearing in almost every combination. By the 1990s the four main flavours available were Pickled Onion, Roast Beef, Smokey Bacon and Saucy.
The Yellow Monster is part of Cheese and Onion flavour Monster Munch.
The original Monster Munch used two different snack shapes, related to two of the Monsters. The shape known as a "monster paw" that is still used today has long been the subject of dispute over whether it represents a paw or, instead, the eye and lashes of a monster. The other represented the gangly, long-tongued pink monster: circular with two bumps on the top for eyes, protrusions on either side and a tongue dangling down. For a limited time in the early 1990s, there were also spider-shaped Monster Munch with a smokey bacon flavour.
A short-lived range of Monster Munch themed drinks - Monster Fizz - was available in the 1980s. The small range of flavours included orangeade.[1]
Walkers Monster Munch (1995–2008)
In 1995 the Monster Munch brand was taken over by Walkers who relaunched them with a range of four flavours. One of the most significant changes was that the crisps were much smaller than before. The monster characters were also redesigned.
New '90s monsters
| Monster | Description | Flavour |
|---|---|---|
| Pink/Purple Monster | A tall, pink creature with a wide mouth | Beef Burger/Spicy/Roast Beef |
| Blue/Yellow Monster | A furry, blue creature with an inverted head | Spaghetti Sauce/Cheesy |
| Red Monster | A large, red ogre-like creature | Flamin' Hot |
| Orange Monster | An orange ogre-like creature | Pickled Onion |
Flavours
Walkers relaunched Monster Munch with four flavours: Pickled Onion, Beef Burger, Spaghetti Sauce and Flamin' Hot. A wide range of Tazos, featuring images of the monsters, was produced, with one Tazo included in each bag.
During then, Various packaging changes and new flavours were happening. Monster Munch was later part of Walkers' short lived "Snackshack" lineup during 1997-1999. A Cheesy flavour replaced the Spaghetti Sauce Flavour at this time, and the Blue Monster was recoloured Yellow.
in 1999, when Walkers changed their logo, Monster Munch changed their packaging. A Spicy flavour was also released at this time which replaced the Beef Burger flavour, and a new Purple Monster was the main monster for that flavour. in the early 2000s, Cheesy and Spicy were discontinued, the Spicy flavour was replaced with Roast Beef again, and the Pink Monster returned.
In 2007, Walkers changed the packaging for all their snack products, which were Quavers, Wotsits, Squares, French Fries and Monster Munch. This packaging reflected the usage of Sunseed Oil, which was used in all products. The Multipack bags were in a different layout, being in Landscape style. For Monster Munch, the logo was changed, but the monsters and flavours didn't. However, for Monster Munch, This packaging style was short lived, as huge changes happened to the brand in 2008. This packaging remained for the short lived Baked Monster Munch.
Original Monster Munch relaunched (2008–present)
In September 2008 Walkers re-launched Monster Munch, based on the original Monster Munch from the Smiths days. The crisps have returned to their original larger size, and the packs include retro designs based on the original packs, featuring three of the original four monsters. "Roast Beef" flavour features the Pink Monster as originally, "Pickled Onion" features the Yellow Monster and "Flamin' Hot" is marketed with the Blue Monster. The orange monster was not brought back. A Mega Monster Munch website was launched to coincide with the relaunch.[2]
| Monster | Description | Flavour |
|---|---|---|
| Pink Monster | A tall, pink, gangly creature with a floppy tongue | Roast Beef |
| Yellow Monster | A yellow, one-eyed creature with a red nose | Pickled Onion |
| Blue Monster | A hat-wearing blue costume with floppy-ears and four arms | Flamin' Hot |
Limited editions
Throughout the years there have been several limited edition flavours available for a short period of time. A "Baked Bean" flavour was made available in 2003 for Comic Relief. A "Vanilla Ice Cream" flavour was released in 2004, and was received with mostly negative reaction. This type of monster munch was non-savoury, and it contained sugar instead of salt.
There were also variants that could turn the consumer's tongue a different colour. This usually meant the tongue was turned blue, though a variant that could turn the tongue either blue or green was available for a time.
A Product Called "Mega Monster Munch Webs" was sold starting from Halloween 2013 and came in a bacon flavour. This product has been popular enough be released every halloween after that.
Tayto Monster Munch (Ireland)
In Ireland, the major potato crisp and corn snack brand Tayto made a spicy flavoured corn snack with the name "Monster Munch". Upon the movement of Walkers into the Irish market in the 1990s, the name "Monster Munch" was purchased from Tayto. Thereafter, Tayto changed the name of their snack to "Mighty Munch" to differentiate between the Tayto and Walker snacks.
Intersnack Monster Munch (France)
In France, the major potato crisp brand Intersnack (France) make a range of flavoured potato chip based snacks with the name "Monster Munch". The range of flavours include salted, ham & cheese, barbeque, ketchup & pizza. The monsters are smaller in size than UK Monster Munch, much thinner and are a different shape (resembling a ghost like shape with a smiley face). [3]
Ingredients
Monster Munch is suitable for vegetarians.[4]
References
- ↑ Paul (2008-05-31). "The Cobwebbed Room: 'Monster Munch' - Pop And Tape". Cobwebbedroom.blogspot.com. Retrieved 2011-10-04.
- ↑ "Find Our Monsters! Monster Munch - They're Back and They're Bigger!". Megamonstermunch.com. Retrieved 2011-10-04.
- ↑ "Intersnack web site". Retrieved 2015-01-22.
- ↑ "isitveggie.com - Walkers Products". jamjee.co.uk.