TL;DR
Smiths Snaps are gone for good. PepsiCo confirmed in October 2025 that production had ended at their Lincoln factory after 50 years. The last batches cleared retailers by early 2026. If you want something similar, Frazzles, Scampi Fries and Space Raiders Spicy are your best shouts from what’s still available.
Smiths Snaps Spicy Tomato crisps are discontinued. After half a century on shelves, PepsiCo confirmed in October 2025 that production had ended at their Newark Road factory in Lincoln, and the remaining stock would be cleared through wholesalers over the following weeks. For anyone who grew up grabbing a bag from the school tuck shop or the vending machine at the local leisure centre, it is a genuine loss.
This post covers what actually happened, the history behind one of Britain’s most recognisable retro snacks, and what you can buy right now if you need something to fill the Snaps-shaped hole in your snack cupboard.
So Are Smiths Snaps Actually Discontinued?
Yes, officially confirmed
PepsiCo, the parent company behind both Walkers and Smiths, confirmed the news to the BBC in October 2025. Production at the Lincoln factory had already stopped, and retailers were being told to sell through whatever stock remained. There were no last-minute reprieves, no limited edition comeback announcements, and no suggestion the recipe would move to a different site.
What PepsiCo actually said
The official statement from PepsiCo read: “Smiths Tomato Snaps have had a great run and will always hold a special place in our history, but evolving our portfolio allows us to focus on making more of the brands and flavours people love.” A spokesperson added: “We know that fans of Snaps will be sad to see them go, and we would like to thank them for giving the brand their support over the years.”
Measured. Corporate. Not exactly satisfying if Snaps were your go-to snack for the past four decades.
Can you still buy them anywhere?
By early 2026, legitimate retail stock had been exhausted. You will occasionally find old packets on eBay, where sellers are listing discontinued bags at anywhere between £5 and £21 for a handful of packets. Whether a past-best-before crisp is worth that is a decision only you can make. The rest of the Smiths range is still very much available though, and worth knowing about if you want to keep buying from the same stable.
The History of Smiths Snaps
Where they came from
Snaps were first launched in 1975, originally produced under the Walkers brand before eventually moving across to the Smiths name. They were made at PepsiCo’s Newark Road factory in Lincoln, a site with serious heritage: it was originally built in 1937 as the Smiths Potato Crisp factory, meaning the building that made the very last bag of Snaps had been turning out crisps for nearly 90 years.
What made them different
Snaps were not a standard sliced potato crisp. They were an extruded snack, made from potato starch and potato granules, which gave them their distinctive curved rectangle shape with slightly raised edges. That shape created a particular crunch, and it meant the spicy tomato seasoning coated the inside of the curve in a way that concentrated the flavour. Anyone who ate them regularly knows exactly what that tasted like, and knows there is nothing quite like it.
The Smiths brand and where it fits
The wider Smiths story goes back to 1920, when Frank Smith started packaging crisps from converted garages in Cricklewood, London. By the 1930s the company had factories across the UK. PepsiCo acquired the UK business in 1989, and Smiths has operated as a sub-brand of Walkers ever since. You can read more about that ownership story in our piece on why Lays is called Walkers in the UK, which covers how PepsiCo runs its UK crisp portfolio. Snaps were one of the last products still carrying the Smiths name with genuine heritage behind it.
Why Were Smiths Snaps Discontinued?
The sales numbers
The numbers tell the story plainly. PepsiCo sold two million kilos of Smiths crisps across their full range in the 52 weeks to September 2024, generating around £26.1 million in grocery sales. That sounds reasonable until you compare it to Quavers alone, which shifted 6.9 million kilos worth £129.7 million in the same period. From a production planning perspective, Snaps were using factory time and supply chain resource that could be pointed at products moving three times the volume.
The wider restructure
The discontinuation came alongside a broader PepsiCo restructure. In August 2025, the company proposed changes to UK operations that put 560 jobs at risk across factories in Leicester, Coventry and Lincoln. Snaps were not the only casualty: Walkers Max Texan BBQ and Pepperoni Feast flavours had already been pulled from shelves around the same time. The direction was clear.
Portfolio focus over nostalgia
PepsiCo has been trimming lower-volume lines and concentrating investment on brands with bigger reach. Quavers, Wotsits, Monster Munch and the core Walkers range all do the kind of numbers Snaps never could. That is not a knock on Snaps. Large food companies allocate resources based on volume, and 50 years of goodwill only stretches so far when the factory has bigger priorities.
How Fans Reacted
The internet was not happy
The announcement sparked genuine dismay online. Reddit users in r/CasualUK called it the end of an era. On X, one person wrote: “Walkers Snaps are being discontinued. They have been with me since childhood and words cannot describe my devastation.” Others called for petitions. Someone suggested axing Smoky Bacon crisps instead. The response was not ironic. People genuinely loved them.
Over on the PistonHeads forum, a retailer confirmed they had taken the last eight boxes from their supplier that day, with 100 more final-batch cases expected that week. People were ordering boxes from Argos click-and-collect just to guarantee they got some before they were gone completely.
A regional blind spot
One interesting detail from the discussions: several people from Scotland said they had never seen Snaps in their local shops at all. Distribution appears to have been strongest in England, which may partly explain why a product with real affection behind it never hit the sales volumes PepsiCo needed nationally. If you never had easy access to them, you never became a regular buyer.
What to Buy Instead of Smiths Snaps
Other Smiths products still going strong
The rest of the Smiths range survived the cull. Frazzles, Chipsticks, Scampi Fries and Bacon Fries are all still in production. Frazzles in particular carry a similar energy: retro, distinctive, unmistakably Smiths. If you want value, buying them in bulk boxes works out considerably cheaper than picking up singles from the corner shop.
Spicy tomato alternatives
If the specific spicy tomato hit is what you are chasing, Space Raiders Spicy are the closest mainstream alternative. They cover similar flavour ground: extruded snack, bold seasoning, more heat than a standard crisp. The shape and texture are different but the experience is comparable. There is also apparently an Aldi own-brand version that people in the discontinuation threads flagged as a decent substitute.
The retro snack shelf more broadly
If Snaps were part of a broader nostalgia habit rather than specifically about the tomato flavour, there is still plenty to explore. Scampi Fries, Ringos, Chipsticks and Frazzles all have roots going back to the same era. None of them are the same thing. But they are made by the same company with the same approach, and if you want to keep buying retro Smiths snacks, they are all still here. You can also see what else was popular back then in our guide to 80s crisps.
Snaps had a 50-year run, which for a crisp in a market as competitive and fickle as the UK snack aisle is a serious achievement. The product was good. The nostalgia was real. But the numbers were not, and that is what ended it.
Stock Up on Smiths While You Still Can
The Snaps are gone but the rest of the Smiths range is still very much alive. Browse the full selection and order in bulk at prices that actually make sense.
Shop All Smiths Crisps at One Pound Crisps
Are Smiths Snaps discontinued?
Yes. PepsiCo confirmed in October 2025 that Smiths Tomato Snaps were being discontinued. Production ended at the Lincoln factory and the final batches cleared retailers by early 2026.
Why were Smiths Snaps discontinued?
PepsiCo discontinued Snaps to focus on higher-volume products. The full Smiths crisp range generated around £26.1m in annual grocery sales compared to Quavers alone at £129.7m. The decision was part of a wider UK portfolio restructure that also put 560 jobs at risk.
Where can I buy Smiths Snaps now?
Smiths Snaps are no longer in production and legitimate retail stock has been exhausted. Some sellers on eBay are listing old stock at inflated prices. The rest of the Smiths range including Frazzles and Chipsticks remains available online.
What are the best alternatives to Smiths Snaps?
For a similar spicy tomato flavour, Space Raiders Spicy are the closest mainstream alternative. For the same retro Smiths experience, Frazzles, Chipsticks and Scampi Fries are all still in production and available in bulk boxes online.
When did Smiths Snaps launch?
Smiths Snaps were first launched in 1975, originally under the Walkers brand before moving to the Smiths name. They were produced at PepsiCo’s Newark Road factory in Lincoln until production ended in October 2025.
Is the rest of the Smiths crisp range still available?
Yes. Only Tomato Snaps were discontinued. Frazzles, Chipsticks, Scampi Fries and Bacon Fries are all still in production and available to buy online in single bags or bulk boxes.