Yes, Hula Hoops are British. Created in Rotherham in 1973 by KP Snacks, they have been one of the UK’s most recognisable crisp brands for over 50 years. There is no real debate about this. The confusion tends to come from people mixing them up with the hula hoop toy, which is American, or from the fact that KP Snacks is now owned by a German company. Neither of those things changes where Hula Hoops came from or where they are made.
Hula Hoops are a British crisp, created in Rotherham in 1973 by KP Snacks. They are still made in the UK today. KP Snacks has been owned by German company Intersnack since 2012, but the product itself is British through and through.
Who made Hula Hoops?
KP Snacks: a very British company
Hula Hoops were created by KP Snacks, a company with roots going back to 1853 in Rotherham, South Yorkshire. The company started out as Kenyon & Son, a producer of confectionery, jam and pickles. The KP in the name stands for Kenyon Produce. By the 1950s, KP had moved into nuts, and by the 1970s they were producing the full range of snacks the brand is known for today.
KP launched Hula Hoops in 1973, and the distinctive ring-shaped crisp has been a fixture in British snack aisles ever since. The company also makes McCoy’s, Skips, Wheat Crunchies, Discos, Nik Naks, Space Raiders, and Frisps, which makes KP responsible for a significant chunk of the nation’s crisp habit.
What about Intersnack?
In 2012, KP Snacks was acquired by Intersnack, a German snack food company. This is where the “are they really British” question sometimes comes from. But ownership and origin are two different things. Hula Hoops were invented in the UK, are still manufactured in the UK, and are sold primarily in the UK. The fact that the parent company is German does not make them a German crisp, any more than Jaguar became an Indian car when Tata bought it.
KP Snacks is still based in Slough and its largest factory is in Teesside. The hoops rolling off those production lines are about as British as it gets.
Where does the American confusion come from?
The hula hoop toy
The hula hoop toy, the plastic ring you spin around your waist, was an American invention that became a global craze in the late 1950s. Wham-O sold around 25 million of them in the first four months after launch in 1958. The name stuck in popular culture, and when KP launched their ring-shaped crisp in 1973, the name was a natural fit for the shape.
The old post on this page suggested that Hula Hoops crisps “may have originated in the United States in the 1960s, where they were marketed as a toy.” That is not accurate. The crisp was created by KP in Rotherham in 1973. There is no American predecessor.
Not to be confused with American corn snacks
There are ring-shaped corn snacks made in the US, and some of them have vague visual similarities to Hula Hoops. But they are different products with different ingredients, different textures, and no shared history with the KP version. Hula Hoops are made from potato, rice flour, and maize flour, fried in sunflower oil with no artificial colours or MSG in the original recipe.
What are Hula Hoops made from?
The ingredients
Original Hula Hoops contain potatoes, sunflower oil, rice flour, maize flour, and salt. That is it for the plain variety. KP does not use artificial colours, artificial flavours, or MSG in the core Hula Hoops range, which puts them at the simpler end of the crisp ingredient list compared to some heavily flavoured competitors.
The distinctive shape comes from an extrusion process. The potato and flour mixture is formed into a dough, pushed through an extruder to create hollow cylinders, cut to length, then fried in sunflower oil and seasoned while still warm. The result is the light, hollow ring shape that has not changed since 1973.
The flavours
The current Hula Hoops range available in the UK includes Original, Salt & Vinegar, Cheese & Onion, Barbecue Beef, and Bacon Sizzler. Big Hoops launched in 2011 as a larger format targeting adults, available in Original and BBQ Beef. Hula Hoops Puft launched in 2015 as a lighter, lower-calorie version in a puffed format. Hula Hoops Flavarings, launched in 2018, are maize-based rather than potato, giving them a texture closer to Monster Munch than a traditional hoop.
If you want the full range, the Hula Hoops category at One Pound Crisps has the current lineup including Big Hoops grab bags and multipacks.
Are Hula Hoops gluten free or vegan?
Gluten free
Standard Hula Hoops are not certified gluten free. The original recipe contains no wheat, but KP notes that the product may contain traces of gluten due to manufacturing. For anyone with coeliac disease, this is worth taking seriously. We have a full breakdown of every Hula Hoops flavour in the are Hula Hoops gluten free guide.
Vegan
Most Hula Hoops flavours are vegan, but not all of them. Original and Salt & Vinegar are vegan. Cheese flavours are not, for obvious reasons. The are Hula Hoops vegan post covers each flavour individually if you need the specifics.
Fifty years and still going
Hula Hoops turned 50 in 2023, which KP marked with various limited edition activity. The brand is worth around £83 million annually in the UK, making it one of the more commercially significant crisp brands in the country. Not bad for a ring of fried potato from Rotherham.
They sit alongside Monster Munch as one of the brands that has genuinely stayed the course through every decade, without needing a major reinvention to stay relevant. The shape helps. People have been putting them on their fingers since 1973, and nobody has found a reason to stop.
Are Hula Hoops a British crisp?
Yes. Hula Hoops were created in Rotherham, South Yorkshire in 1973 by KP Snacks. They are still manufactured in the UK today. The parent company, Intersnack, is German, but the product itself is British in origin and production.
Who makes Hula Hoops crisps?
Hula Hoops are made by KP Snacks, a company founded in Rotherham in 1853. KP also makes McCoy’s, Skips, Discos, Nik Naks, Space Raiders, and Wheat Crunchies. KP Snacks has been owned by German company Intersnack since 2012 but remains based in the UK.
When were Hula Hoops invented?
Hula Hoops crisps were first launched in 1973 by KP Snacks in the UK. They have been in continuous production since then and are now one of the UK’s biggest crisp brands, worth around £83 million annually.
What are Hula Hoops made from?
Original Hula Hoops are made from potatoes, sunflower oil, rice flour, maize flour, and salt. They contain no artificial colours, artificial flavours, or MSG. The Flavarings and Puft variants use a different base and have a slightly different texture.
Are Hula Hoops vegan?
Most Hula Hoops flavours are vegan, including Original and Salt & Vinegar. Cheese flavours are not. Check the individual flavour guide for a full breakdown of which varieties are suitable for vegans.
Are Hula Hoops gluten free?
Standard Hula Hoops do not contain wheat as an ingredient, but KP flags that they may contain traces of gluten due to manufacturing processes. They are not certified gluten free and are not suitable for people with coeliac disease who need guaranteed gluten-free products.