Pom Bear Crisps: The Complete Guide

Pom Bears are bear-shaped potato snacks made by KP Snacks in the UK. They launched in Germany in 1987 and arrived in the UK in 1990. All three current flavours (Original, Cheese and BBQ) are vegan, gluten free, and under 100 calories per bag. They are still very much in production.

Few crisps have quite the same lunchbox heritage as Pom Bears. The little bears have been turning up in school bags and picnic boxes for over three decades, and unlike a lot of snacks from that era, they never went away. If anything they are more relevant now than they were ten years ago, partly because the entire range happens to be vegan and gluten free without making any fuss about it.

Here is everything worth knowing about them.

What Are Pom Bears?

The basic facts

Pom Bears are bear-shaped potato snacks. They are light, low in calories, free from artificial colours and flavours, and suitable for vegans. The shape is the thing that makes them immediately recognisable: small, flat bears with a slightly rough surface from the drying and frying process. Each bag is small, each bear is small, and the whole experience is deliberately gentle rather than punchy.

They are made from dried potato rather than sliced fresh potato, which puts them in the same category as Hula Hoops and Skips rather than traditional crisps. The manufacturing process involves mixing potato powder with water, starch and salt, rolling the dough flat, cutting the bear shapes with a large roller, drying them on a conveyor belt, and then frying in sunflower oil before seasoning.

Who makes Pom Bears

Pom Bears are owned by Intersnack Group, a German snack manufacturer. In the UK they are produced and distributed by KP Snacks, the same company behind Hula Hoops, McCoys, Tyrrells, and Nik Naks. KP Snacks operates out of Ashby-de-la-Zouch in Leicestershire.

The History of Pom Bears

Where they came from

Pom Bears started in Germany in 1987 under the name Pom-Bär. The brand was created by Intersnack and quickly became popular across continental Europe. The name translates simply as Potato Bear, which does exactly what it says.

Three years after the German launch, in 1990, Pom Bears arrived in the UK. They were positioned as a children’s snack from the start, aimed at lunchboxes and family occasions rather than the adult crisp market.

How they grew in the UK

Through the 1990s and 2000s Pom Bears became a staple of UK school lunchboxes. The small bag size, low calorie count, and mild flavours made them a popular choice for parents, and the bear shape made them appealing to children in a way that a flat crisp simply is not.

In 2008 the brand came under scrutiny from the Consumers Association, who flagged the smiling bear mascot as a way of promoting snacks to children. Intersnack responded by reducing the level of unsaturated fat in the product. This was one of the early moments when mainstream snack brands started adjusting their formulas in response to nutritional criticism.

In 2010 a 3D animated Pom Bear advertisement ran in cinemas before screenings of Shrek Forever After and Toy Story 3, which cemented the brand’s association with family entertainment.

The 2024 relaunch

In August 2024 KP Snacks launched two new Pom Bear flavours: Cheese and BBQ. Both joined the existing Original flavour in multipack format. Cheese was also made available in 19g single bags. The launch came with a new TV campaign, the first Pom Bear television advertising since 2018, built around the tagline “Put a little Pom in your Day.”

Both new flavours are vegan, gluten free, non-HFSS, and free from artificial colours and flavourings, matching the credentials of the original. They rolled out to Tesco, Asda, Sainsbury’s, Morrisons, Waitrose and Co-op from August 2024.

Pom Bears Flavours: Every One Ranked

Original

The one that started it all. Original Pom Bears are lightly salted with a clean potato flavour. No seasoning complexity, no aftertaste, just a simple potato taste in a bear shape. This is the flavour most people picture when they think of Pom Bears, and it remains the bestselling variety. 65 calories per 13g bag.

Cheese

Launched in August 2024. A mild, savoury cheese flavour that uses maltodextrin, dried yeast extract, natural flavouring, dried onion and dried garlic to build the taste rather than actual dairy. This is what keeps the cheese flavour vegan. It is subtle rather than sharp, closer to a light cheesy puff than a strong cheddar hit. Available in multipacks and single 19g bags.

BBQ

Also launched in August 2024. Smoky and slightly sweet, the BBQ seasoning is the most distinctive of the three flavours. Available in multipacks alongside the Original and Cheese varieties. If you find the original too mild, BBQ is the natural step up without going anywhere near the intensity of a McCoys or a Space Raiders.

Are Pom Bears Vegan and Gluten Free?

Vegan status

Yes, all three Pom Bear flavours are vegan. This includes the Cheese flavour, which achieves its taste through plant-based and yeast-derived ingredients rather than dairy. KP Snacks confirmed this at launch. The Original flavour has been suitable for vegans for years.

Gluten free status

Yes, all Pom Bear flavours are gluten free and confirmed as such by KP Snacks. This makes them one of the few mainstream crisp-style snacks that works across both vegan and gluten-free diets simultaneously. For a full list of gluten-free crisps available in the UK, the complete gluten-free crisps guide covers all the major brands.

Other dietary information

All Pom Bear flavours are non-HFSS, meaning they do not classify as high in fat, salt or sugar under the UK government’s Nutrient Profile Model. They contain no artificial colours or flavours. The Original flavour is listed as containing soya, so anyone with a soya allergy should check the packaging before buying.

Pom Bears Nutrition

Calories per bag

Each 13g bag of Original Pom Bears contains 66 calories. All flavours across the range come in under 100 calories per 13g bag, which is part of why they became a popular lunchbox staple. They are not marketed as a diet food but the portion size and calorie count make them one of the lighter mainstream snack options.

Full nutritional breakdown (Original, per 13g bag)

• Energy: 274 kJ / 66 kcal
• Fat: information varies by flavour, check individual packaging
• Made with sunflower oil
• Contains soya

Ingredients (Original)

Dried Potato, Sunflower Oil, Potato Starch, Maize Starch, Maize Dextrin, Sugar, Salt, Potato Protein, Yeast Extract, Emulsifier: Mono- and Diglycerides of Fatty Acids, Potassium Chloride, Paprika Powder.

No wheat, no dairy, no artificial additives. The ingredient list is short by the standards of flavoured snacks.

Where to Buy Pom Bears

In supermarkets

Pom Bears are widely stocked in UK supermarkets. The Original multipack (6 x 13g) is available in Tesco, Asda, Sainsbury’s, Morrisons, Waitrose and Co-op. The Cheese single bag (19g) is also available in most of these. BBQ is currently a multipack-only flavour.

Online

You can search for Pom Bears on Amazon for multipacks and bulk options, or find Pom Bears on eBay where larger cases and variety packs often come up at good prices. Buying in bulk makes sense if you go through them quickly, particularly the Original multipack which is the most widely available format.

Other KP Snacks worth trying

If you like Pom Bears, the KP Snacks range has a few others in a similar lightweight, lunchbox-friendly territory. Skips are prawn cocktail flavoured corn puffs with a similar airy texture. Hula Hoops are a heavier potato ring but still in the lighter end of the crisp spectrum. Both are available across the same major supermarkets.