The nineties were a big decade for crisps in the UK. New brands arrived, portion sizes crept up, and the flavour options exploded compared to anything that had come before. If you were a teenager or a child in the 90s, the crisps you ate were very different to what your parents grew up with, and a lot of them are still around today in one form or another.
The 1990s saw the UK crisp market expand fast. Walkers took over as the dominant brand, Doritos and Pringles arrived from America, McCoy’s launched as a thicker adult alternative, and fan favourites like Space Raiders and Monster Munch hit their stride. Some of the decade’s most loved crisps disappeared. Most of the big ones are still here.
How the 90s Changed the Crisp Market
Walkers took over
By the time the nineties arrived, Walkers were already well established. But the decade was when they really cemented themselves as the number one crisp brand in the UK. Part of that was the 1995 Gary Lineker advertising campaign, which ran for over two decades and became one of the most recognisable ad campaigns in British food history. Part of it was sheer distribution. Walkers were everywhere.
Walkers are owned by PepsiCo, the same company that makes Lays in the United States and most of the rest of the world. In the UK, the Walkers name stuck, and the brand grew throughout the nineties to dominate the market in a way that Smiths and Golden Wonder never quite managed.
America arrived on the shelves
The nineties were when American snack brands properly landed in the UK. Doritos had existed here since the late 1980s but became genuinely mainstream in the early 90s. Pringles arrived and immediately divided opinion: not a crisp, said the purists. Could not stop eating them, said everyone else.
These brands brought something new to the UK market: bolder seasoning, different textures, and the idea that a crisp could have an identity beyond its flavour. Doritos were a social snack. Pringles came in a tube. Both things felt slightly novel at the time, and both stuck.
The Brands That Defined the Decade
Space Raiders
Space Raiders launched in 1978 but the nineties were when they really got going. At 10p a bag for most of the decade, they were the crisp you bought when you had almost nothing to spend. Alien-shaped, aggressively seasoned, and sold in beef, pickled onion, and the now legendary spicy flavour. The spicy Space Raiders are discontinued, which remains a source of genuine grief for a certain generation of snack fans.
Space Raiders are still available in beef and pickled onion, and the brand still trades on exactly the same nostalgia that made it famous in the first place.
Monster Munch
Monster Munch launched in 1977 but hit the height of its popularity in the eighties and nineties. The monster-claw shape, the Flamin Hot and Pickled Onion flavours, the oversized bags. Monster Munch currently comes in three flavours: Pickled Onion, Flamin Hot, and Roast Beef. The range has been trimmed over the years, but the brand is still going and still sells in volume.
Monster Munch boxes are available to buy in bulk if you want to relive the experience on a slightly more industrial scale.
McCoy’s
McCoy’s launched in 1986 but found their audience in the nineties. The pitch was simple: a proper thick-cut crisp for adults who found Walkers a bit thin. It worked. McCoy’s Ridge Cut became one of the most popular crisp brands in the UK and is still widely stocked today. Flavours like Flame Grilled Steak and Salt and Malt Vinegar were exactly what they needed to be: bold, simple, no messing about.
McCoy’s crisps are still going strong, and the ridge cut format they popularised in the UK has been widely imitated since.
Discos
Discos were a nineties staple in packed lunches across the UK. The round, disc-shaped potato crisp with a strong cheese and onion or salt and vinegar flavour. At a few pence a bag they were a budget option, but one that people genuinely chose over more expensive alternatives. Discos are still available, which is more than can be said for some of the decade’s other favourites.
Nik Naks
Nik Naks have been around since the early 1980s but they were a nineties playground favourite. Specifically Nice N Spicy, which still attracts obsessive loyalty from people who grew up eating them. The ribbed texture, the almost violent spice level for something aimed at children, the lurid orange colour. Nik Naks currently come in three flavours: Nice N Spicy, Rib N Saucy, and Scampi N Lemon. All three still exist. Nik Naks boxes are available to buy in full cases.
The Crisps That Disappeared
Phileas Fogg
Phileas Fogg crisps were a premium brand that felt very 1990s in the best possible way. Inspired by exotic locations and sold in matte packaging with a slightly grown-up feel, they were the crisp you might find at a dinner party rather than in a packed lunch. Mignons Morceaux, Tortilla Chips, Californian Corn Chips. The brand faded in the late 90s and early 2000s as the market moved on. They are not completely gone but they are hard to find.
Walkers Tomato Ketchup
Walkers made a tomato ketchup flavour crisp that had a strong following in the nineties before being quietly discontinued. Walkers Tomato Ketchup crisps are no longer made in their original form, which still annoys the people who remember them. Golden Wonder make a Tomato Ketchup flavour that is sometimes cited as a decent alternative, but it is not the same thing.
Wotsits in various now-lost flavours
Wotsits have been around since 1970, but the nineties saw a range of flavour extensions that have since disappeared. Prawn cocktail Wotsits, flamin hot versions, and various limited editions came and went throughout the decade. The core cheese flavour survived. Most of the experiments did not.
What Made 90s Crisps Different
The packaging got louder
Walk down a crisp aisle in 1985 and the bags were fairly plain. By 1995 they were fluorescent, character-led, and competing for attention in a way that had not existed a decade earlier. Cartoon mascots, competitions inside the packet, tie-ins with films and TV shows. The crisp had become a marketing vehicle as much as a food product.
Flavours got bigger
The nineties were when crisp flavours stopped apologising for themselves. Flame grilled steak. Spicy chilli. Barbecue beef. These were not subtle. The decade pushed seasoning intensity further than the seventies or eighties had dared to, and the brands that did it best, McCoy’s, Doritos, Space Raiders, built real loyalty because of it.
Price was still the battleground
Despite the branding, price still drove a huge amount of purchasing in the nineties crisp market, especially among children. Space Raiders at 10p, Discos at similar prices, and the various own-brand options from corner shops meant that most kids were making buying decisions based on how many bags they could afford rather than brand loyalty. That kept the cheaper brands competitive even as Walkers dominated the premium end.
The nineties gave the UK crisp market most of the brands it still relies on today. A lot of what felt fresh and new in 1995 is now simply part of the furniture, which is exactly what happens when something becomes genuinely good rather than just fashionable. The eighties had built the foundations and the nineties built the house that most crisp fans still live in.
Buy the 90s Classics at One Pound Crisps
Space Raiders, Monster Munch, Discos, Nik Naks, McCoy’s. The best crisps from the nineties are still here. Browse the full range at One Pound Crisps.
What crisps were popular in the 90s in the UK?
The biggest brands of the nineties were Walkers, Space Raiders, Monster Munch, McCoy’s, Discos, Nik Naks, Doritos, and Pringles. Walkers dominated the mainstream market while brands like Space Raiders and Discos competed hard on price among younger buyers.
What 90s crisps have been discontinued?
Several nineties favourites no longer exist, including Phileas Fogg crisps, Walkers Tomato Ketchup, the spicy Space Raiders flavour, and Roysters T-Bone Steak. Some disappeared quietly. Others are still missed loudly.
Are Space Raiders from the 90s still available?
Yes. Space Raiders are still made and sold in beef and pickled onion flavours. The spicy flavour that many people remember from the nineties has been discontinued, though it does occasionally return as a limited edition.
When did Doritos and Pringles come to the UK?
Doritos arrived in the UK in the late 1980s and became mainstream in the early 1990s. Pringles launched in the UK in 1991. Both brands became firmly established throughout the nineties and remain major players today.
What happened to Walkers Tomato Ketchup crisps?
Walkers Tomato Ketchup crisps were discontinued and are no longer produced. They had a loyal following during the nineties and their absence is still occasionally lamented online by people who remember them.
Were McCoy’s crisps around in the 90s?
McCoy’s launched in 1986 but really found their audience in the nineties. The thick ridge-cut format and bold flavours like Flame Grilled Steak made them a popular alternative to standard Walkers. They are still widely available today.