Tyrrells Crisps Guide: Flavours, History and Who Owns Them

TL;DR: Tyrrells are hand-cooked English crisps, started in 2002 on a Herefordshire farm by potato grower William Chase. KP Snacks owns the brand today. The current UK range covers twelve potato crisp flavours plus Furrows and lentil crisps, and most are gluten free, though Sea Salt & Cider Vinegar contains barley. You can buy Tyrrells crisps on Amazon or browse full cases on eBay.

Tyrrells built a brand on being the opposite of a Walkers multipack. Thick cut, skins on, cooked by hand, sold at a price that made people flinch in 2002.

Two decades later it sits in every big supermarket and belongs to the same company as Hula Hoops. This guide covers the range, the farm story, the ownership changes and the label details that actually matter.

What Makes Tyrrells Different

Plenty of brands claim to be hand cooked. Tyrrells has stuck with the method since day one.

Hand cooked in small batches

Tyrrells fries its crisps in small batches rather than on a continuous belt. That is why the colour varies from crisp to crisp and why you get the odd dark one. Batch frying also produces a harder, curlier crisp than the standard supermarket process.

The jackets stay on

The potatoes keep their skins. Look at any bag and you will see brown edges on most of the crisps. Those skins add flavour, texture and a bit of fibre.

The Big Spinny Thing

Here is the odd detail. The moment the crisps leave the fryer, Tyrrells drops them into a spinning drum it calls the Big Spinny Thing. The brand compares it to a tumble drier. It throws off excess oil, which is why Tyrrells leave less grease on your fingers than most thick-cut crisps.

Tyrrells also skips MSG, artificial colours and artificial flavours across the range. That is a genuine point of difference from most mainstream crisps.

How Tyrrells Started

The origin story is better than the usual brand mythology, mainly because it starts with a failure.

Bankruptcy came first

William Chase grew potatoes in Herefordshire and supplied the supermarket supply chain. In 1992, aged 30, he was declared bankrupt. He blamed cheap imported produce driving prices down.

He rebuilt the farming business, then hit the same wall again. Selling a commodity to supermarkets left him with almost no margin.

From spuds to crisps

So in 2002 he decided to stop selling raw potatoes and start selling a finished product. He set up a fryer at Tyrrells Court Farm near Leominster and began making crisps by hand. The farm gave the brand its name.

The first flavour was Lightly Sea Salted. Chase deliberately targeted delis, farm shops and upmarket retailers including Fortnum & Mason, Selfridges and Harrods rather than the multiples.

The Tesco row

Then came the bit everyone remembers. Chase refused point blank to supply Tesco, given his history with the supermarkets. Tesco went and bought Tyrrells from a third-party wholesaler anyway, and stocked them without his agreement.

Chase threatened legal action in 2006 and Tesco pulled the crisps. For a small Herefordshire producer to face down the biggest grocer in the country was a remarkable bit of publicity. The dispute was only settled years later, after Chase had sold up.

Who Owns Tyrrells Now?

Tyrrells has changed hands five times since Chase left. The prices tell the story of how quickly premium crisps became a hot asset.

1. William Chase, 2002 to 2008. Built turnover to around £14m before selling a majority stake.
2. Langholm Capital, 2008. Bought in for roughly £40m. Chase took about £30m out.
3. Investcorp, 2013. Paid £100m for the business.
4. Amplify Snack Brands, 2016. The American owner of SkinnyPop paid around £300m.
5. The Hershey Company, December 2017. Picked up Tyrrells as part of its $1.6bn purchase of Amplify.
6. KP Snacks, July 2018. Bought the whole Tyrrells business from Hershey. Deal closed on 5 July 2018.

What KP ownership means

KP Snacks belongs to the Intersnack Group. It also makes McCoy’s, Hula Hoops, Skips, Nik Naks, Space Raiders, Discos, Butterkist, Pom-Bear and Wheat Crunchies. If you want the wider picture of that empire, our KP crisps history and flavours guide covers it properly.

That does mean Tyrrells is no longer an independent farm brand in any real sense. The crisps are still made in Herefordshire though, and the branding has barely changed since Chase left.

What happened to William Chase

He used the Langholm money to launch Chase Distillery in 2008, turning the same Herefordshire potatoes into vodka and gin. So the farm ended up producing two premium products from one crop.

Every Tyrrells Flavour in the UK Range

The UK range currently splits into three lines. Flavours rotate, so treat this as a snapshot rather than a permanent list.

Potato crisps

• Lightly Sea Salted
• Sea Salt & Cider Vinegar
• Mature Cheddar & Chive
• Sea Salt & Black Pepper
• Sweet Chilli & Red Pepper
• Smoked Paprika
• Roasted Chicken & Sage
• Black Garlic & Sour Cream
• Truffle & Sea Salt Flavour
• English Ham & Mustard Flavour
• Posh Prawn Cocktail
• Naked, with no salt at all

Lightly Sea Salted remains the biggest seller and the one to judge the brand on. Grab a box of 16 Tyrrells Lightly Sea Salted if you want the range starter, or the box of 16 Sea Salt and Cider Vinegar for the sharper option.

Furrows

Furrows are the ridged version. Deeper cut, heavier seasoning, better for dipping. Three flavours currently sit in the line: Sea Salted, Sea Salt & Vinegar, and Beef Brisket & Black Peppercorn.

Lentil crisps

Tyrrells also makes lentil crisps, aimed at the lighter snacking end of the shelf. They are worth a look if you find the potato range too rich. Have a browse of what is stocked on Amazon for Tyrrells lentil crisps.

Are Tyrrells Gluten Free?

Mostly yes, but not universally. This catches people out.

The safe ones

Lightly Sea Salted contains three ingredients: potatoes, sunflower oil and sea salt. Tyrrells labels it gluten free and suitable for vegetarians. The pack does carry a may contain milk warning, so severe dairy allergy sufferers should be careful.

The barley catch

Sea Salt & Cider Vinegar is the one to watch. It contains dried barley malt vinegar, which means barley, which means gluten. Tyrrells prints it in bold on the ingredients list for exactly that reason.

So a brand widely assumed to be gluten free across the board is not. Always read the individual pack. Our UK guide to gluten free crisps runs through the rest of the aisle the same way.

Are Tyrrells vegan?

Lightly Sea Salted contains no animal ingredients. However, Tyrrells labels it vegetarian rather than vegan, and adds the may contain milk warning. Strict vegans may want to avoid it on that basis.

Cheese, chicken, ham and prawn cocktail flavours are obviously out. For the full checking method, see our guide to whether crisps are vegan and what to look for.

Tyrrells Nutrition: What Is Actually in a Bag

Tyrrells publishes clear figures. Here is Lightly Sea Salted, per 100g:

• Energy: 519kcal
• Fat: 29.3g, of which saturates 2.4g
• Carbohydrate: 53.4g, of which sugars 0.4g
• Fibre: 6.7g
• Protein: 6.9g
• Salt: 0.65g

A single 40g bag works out at 208 calories, 11.7g of fat and just 0.26g of salt.

The salt point

That salt figure is the interesting one. Many standard crisps carry considerably more per 100g, so a lightly salted Tyrrells is a lower-salt choice than the seasoning suggests. Sunflower oil also keeps saturated fat down at 2.4g per 100g.

None of that makes them a health food. They are still a fried potato snack at over 500 calories per 100g. If you want the honest comparison, we broke it down in are crisps a healthy snack.

Are Tyrrells Worth the Money?

They cost more than a standard bag. Whether that is justified depends on what you want from a crisp.

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What you get for the extra

You get a harder crunch, visible skins, real seasoning and no MSG. Against a Walkers multipack that is a clear step up. Against other hand-cooked brands the gap narrows considerably.

The competition

Kettle Chips sit in almost identical territory and often go on offer more aggressively. Pipers go further on provenance and flavour range. Both are worth trying before you settle.

That said, Tyrrells wins on availability. Every major supermarket stocks it, which few rivals manage. And if you want to see where genuinely expensive crisps go, our piece on the most expensive crisps in the world puts the pricing in perspective.

Where to Buy Tyrrells Crisps

Single bags at supermarket prices are the worst value going. Cases and pub cards cut the cost per bag substantially.

For full boxes, browse the Tyrrells range on One Pound Crisps, including the box of 16 Mature Cheddar and Chive and Posh Prawn Cocktail. For sharing tubs and gift packs, check Tyrrells on Amazon.

eBay is often cheaper for bulk. Have a look at Tyrrells crisps cases on eBay or Tyrrells pub cards. Stocking a bar instead of a cupboard? Start with our wholesale crisps for pubs section, or read up on the best pub crisps and where to buy them.

You can also compare specific flavours directly. Try Tyrrells Lightly Sea Salted on Amazon against Tyrrells Furrows and see which texture you prefer.