WHAT'S THE best thing to quench a raging thirst? A pint of cold beer, of course - which in itself is a very good reason for pubs to welcome the new Hot & Spicy range from veteran crisp manufacturer Seabrook.
The fact that an established brand is putting a new emphasis on building a presence in the on-trade will also be good news for anyone who believes there's nothing wrong with a little healthy competition.
The new range is the first wave of a burst of new product development promised this year by the Bradford-based company. It consists of four pub-friendly flavours - wasabi, two chilli, oriental and mustard. The Hot & Spicy flavours complement the core range of 19 varieties already offered by the Bradford snacks company, established by the eponymous Mr C Brook back in the 1940s.
The original Mr Brooks' grandson is the appropriately named Ken Brook-Chrispin, current chief executive of the family business.
He says: "We pride ourselves in producing flavours that have much more punch than other crisps, and our new range of strong and fiery, spicy crisps will certainly not disappoint consumers' taste buds."
An on-pack 'hot-o-meter' shows just how fiery each flavour is, from the sweet 'n' spicy oriental to the frankly tongue sizzling Japanese horseradish flavour of wasabi. The Hot & Spicy range is available in individual 53.7g bags and 113.4g bags for sharing.
This summer also sees the launch of a £1.5m TV advertising campaign for Seabrook's core range - the first time the brand has featured on TV.
The adverts use the strap line 'A right proper gobful' and introduce the concept of Blah! - standing up to and protesting against the annoying, nonsensical things in modern life. The particular irritants are Britain's chav culture and the ridiculously theatrical diving in football.
Building on the theme, Seabrook is also a co-founder and sponsor of the Blah! Party, a new political movement fronted by pop icon Captain Sensible.
The party reckons to be "a real alternative for no-nonsense people who are fed up with the irrational and senseless aspects of everyday life and of modern-day politics".
Ken says: "A no-nonsense, straight-talking approach to life is something that we can relate to.
"The majority of people in the UK are disaffected with a politics where spin and rhetoric takes priority over substance."
He adds: "Seabrook Crisps has been in operation for over 60 years and we've created a £16m brand without any above-the-line marketing at all. We fully realise the importance of supporting our brand and our trade partners and believe that this campaign will unlock the strong Seabrook brand equity that has, as yet, been unexploited.
"The brand enjoys a cult following in its Northern heartland and we want to expand this right across the country."
All of which is fine, but what does it mean for pubs which already have plenty of snack suppliers anxious to sell them their wares?
Seabrook believes there is plenty of room for another strong crisp brand in the pub market - particularly one which has a lower retail profile than the big brands, making it less likely that customers will mentally 'price-check' the pub price of a bag of crisps against their local supermarket,
The range of 19 core flavours - which includes more unusual varieties such as roasted garlic and Canadian ham - also gives pubs more choice.
Win Hot & Spicy crisps!
To mark the launch of the Seabrook Crisps Hot & Spicy range, we have a mixed case featuring all four flavours to give away to 10 readers. To be in with a chance of winning, just answer the following question:
Which former lead singer with The Damned is the leader of the Blah! Party?
- a) Captain Pugwash
- b) Captain Sensible
- c) Captain Corelli
Send your answer on a postcard, along with your name, pub name, and address to Seabrook Hot & Spicy, Pub Food, The Publican, Ludgate House, 245 Blackfriars Road, London SE1 9UY, or email pubfood@thepublican.com. Closing date Monday, June 11.