Snacks from the Dead: King Cut Groovers

Unceremoniously dethroned

Anyone who watched the recent Channel 4 documentary, The Secret World of Crisps, will know what a cutthroat industry snackage can be. It’s exceedingly rare that a no-frills breed such as this month’s entry, King Cut Groovers, survives this ever-changing world, but as Walker’s proved, it can be done.

One thing that struck me during the programme was the contentious issue of which was best: Doritos or Phileas Fogg? So, incumbent with last month’s Snacks entry, I decided to conduct a poll of my own: which is the best-ever flavour of Snaps? Disappointingly, the only vote Bacon got was my own, with Tomato the runaway winner – which probably shows why I’m writing this feature every month.

Much Like a pint of Stones Bitter, King Cut Groovers were solid, dependable and just tasted good. Also like a pint of Stones Bitter, they never really received the attention they deserved due to a lack of advertising and therefore always seemed to take a back seat, which almost certainly led to their demise.

No-nonsense in their range of flavours, King Cut Groovers had a decent run through the 70s and 80s, but an emerging young talent by the name of McCoy’s – who were also crinkle-cut, but much bolder in terms of marketing and advertising – proved to be the final straw. The only hope is cloning if there happens to be a  packet (that’s seen better days) still lying around somewhere. By the way, if you’re wondering about the question posed earlier, it’s Phileas Fogg by a mile (but what do I know?).