Confirmed sighting: Brannigans Roast Beef and Mustard/ Blue Diamond Jalapeno Smokehouse Almonds
Posted: 09:28 Sun 13-Sep-2009. Price: 60p. Location: Millennium News, Leicestershire. Nutritional unusualness: 65% Less Saturated Fat.
No sign as yet of Tyrrells' new range of British flavours, or even Burts' Golden Mile, though Zeddy paid £1.39 for these Blue Diamond Jalapeno Smokehouse Almonds in Sainsbury, East Kilbride ("Nice and smokey with a good kick of chilli to follow. Almonds always seem classier than peanuts to me. Limited range at Sainsbury's but their site shows a few varieties".) This week's headliner, however, comes from "Nick T", who starts off quoting Andy Williams as he inquires: Where do I begin, to tell the story of how great a love can be?

Statistics which I've just made up prove that I am the world's biggest fan of Brannigans. Since the late '80s they have provided both emotional support and my own personal benchmark in crisp-based entertainment, but have been increasingly hard to find. In my small town one pub and three shops used to stock them. Now, tragically, we're down to one independent newsagent. So with the nights drawing in, pub prices spiralling ever upwards, and the telly offering little above The Fat-Tongued One taking his tired old Mockney act to the unsuspecting Americans, what a delight it was to read that United Biscuits (UB) were relaunching Brannigans. Thank you Lord, my evenings are complete.

To give some back story, UB have a chequered reputation as serial up-stuffers of brands and they missed another plum opportunity this year by neglecting to buy the bankrupted Golden Wonder off Tayto. An icon of my youth, no rain-battered Summer holiday in the tundra-like resorts of North Wales was complete without me sitting in my dad's Ford Pop reading the 1968 AA Book Of The Road whilst clutching a Vimto and a bag of Golden Wonder with its Tam o'Shantered character logo. Yet fast forward 40 years and poor old wallflower Golden Wonder gets passed over again in favour of all-but-invisible brand Wheat Crunchies, of all things. Will no-one take on the Walkers behemoth? I certainly can't see Tayto doing it, and I'm too lazy.

So will UB or its bitch KP Snacks now put some serious marketing mojo behind Brannigans? Will it have the confidence to allow the brand to stand alone again and not just as a sad afterthought on the McCoy's website? Is that American actor illustrated on the packets even still alive?

The revamp has said goodbye to the gold foil packet, to be replaced by their old skool "paper style" (*cough* that'll be plastic then) bag, and sadly the recipe has changed too. The crisps themselves are still reformed potato but have given up pretending otherwise: they are now simple pale blank discs. The distinctive dusty texture is still there but they're definitely less salty and that critical lip-tingling mustard tang has been toned right down. The packet size also suffers from The Wagon Wheel Effect, i.e. where the manufacturers say it's not getting smaller, but you know darn well it is.

You know the old saying about "if it ain't broke" etc? Well I only wish Brannigans' brand manager knew it too.

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Add a comment | # Permalink to this page | 10 comment(s) so far: (NB: NO IDENTITIES ARE VERIFIED; ANYONE COULD ACTUALLY BE FROM THE MANUFACTURERS OR COMPETING COMPANIES. ALL CELEBRITY POSTINGS ARE IMPERSONATED ... POORLY)

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Posted: 21:07 Thu 17-Sep-2009 by Zeddy # permalink comment
Comment: Hmmmm, statistics prove that Wagon Wheels have grown by 6.7899% in the last 14 years.

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Posted: 13:01 Mon 21-Sep-2009 by "brannigans crisps...roast beef and the ham ones" # permalink comment
Comment: they sell these in my local shop in newcastle....i can't get my mars thick shakes anywhere though!!!

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Posted: 18:19 Sun 27-Sep-2009 by "Magnetic Ham Sandwich" # permalink comment
Comment: On the subject of 'meaty' flavoured crisps, I had some of the new Cheeseburger flavoured Walkers Max crisps the other day. 55p in their new-style bright yellow bags. As per usual for a Walkers crisp though, the flavour was disappointing - a bland combination of paprika, onion and mustard.

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Posted: 18:56 Sun 27-Sep-2009 by Zeddy # permalink comment
Comment: Forgive me, MHS. I thought you said cheeseBURGER. Obviously these cannot be those as there was no mention of meat flavour.

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Posted: 18:27 Mon 28-Sep-2009 by "Magnetic Ham Sandwich" # permalink comment
Comment: contains '' flavourings '' - oh and Dill Oil too. lol.....

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Posted: 19:32 Mon 28-Sep-2009 by Zeddy # permalink comment
Comment: "Flavourings" is it? That will be when the farmer went by the rendering plant with the "tatoes" on a cart behind the tractor. Walkers, you sycophants of the "great" jug-eared one.

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Posted: 19:39 Mon 28-Sep-2009 by Zeddy # permalink comment
Comment: Apologies to Dumbo.

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Posted: 12:38 Tue 29-Sep-2009 by "Fishface" # permalink comment
Comment: I thought the Cheese-burger Max crisps DID taste like a Big Mac, or maybe it was just the BMs 'special sauce' and not the overall burger

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Posted: 13:34 Thu 01-Oct-2009 by "Stan" # permalink comment
Comment: Cheeseburger crisps taste exactly like a McCheapo burger. But you know what? I think it works. (note: McDonalds burgers rarely taste of meat)

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Posted: 12:54 Fri 30-Oct-2009 by "Mr M Cadmore"
(apparently posting from 84.70.21.212: ) # permalink comment
Comment: I had a dream last night, that i saw a packet of Brannigans - Roast Beef and mustard crisp, i I had the same dream 30 years ago, but then you could buy them

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