Tudor Crisps
Tudor Crisps was a regional English potato-crisp brand produced in the North East and discontinued in 2003.
Last updated August 31, 2026
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Overview
Tudor Crisps was a British potato-crisp brand established in Sunderland in 1947 by Tudor Food Products. It developed as a strongly regional business, supplying customers across North East England and Scotland and claiming a dominant position in those markets. The brand became closely associated with local identity, regional retail distribution and advertising that used North Eastern settings and characters. During the 1950s, Tudor expanded beyond its original Sunderland operation. It opened an additional factory at Sandyford in Newcastle upon Tyne and planned a much larger facility at Peterlee in County Durham. The Peterlee plant was intended to use modern American machinery capable of producing approximately 250 tons of crisps per week on a single shift. The scale and technology of the project made the factory particularly attractive to Smiths Crisps, then the United Kingdom's largest crisp manufacturer. Smiths acquired Tudor in 1960 for £1 million. Under Smiths, Tudor continued to operate as a regional brand while also serving as a testing ground for new snack products and flavours. Salt and vinegar crisps were introduced through Tudor before being adopted by Smiths more broadly, first in the company's own range and later nationally. Other experiments included Tudor-Ox, a meat-flavoured crisp; Chopstix, a potato-stick snack seasoned with Eastern-inspired spices; Tags, a rice-based smile-shaped snack; mint-sauce crisps; Flips; savoury straws; and special-edition products such as chocolate-flavoured crisps. The business passed through several owners as the wider Smiths operation changed hands. General Mills acquired Smiths in 1966, and expansion work at Peterlee began the following year. General Mills sold Smiths to Associated Biscuits in 1978, while Nabisco acquired Associated Biscuits in 1982. These transactions placed Smiths and rival Walkers within the same broader corporate ownership. After RJR Nabisco was acquired in a leveraged buyout in 1988, assets were sold as part of a debt-reduction programme. PepsiCo purchased Smiths and Walkers in 1989. Tudor retained a distinct regional advertising identity under successive owners. Its 1970s television commercials featured a paperboy tempted with a "canny bag of crisps" to deliver newspapers to a high-rise block. Later advertisements in the 1980s brought back the paperboy as an apparently successful adult, portrayed by Allen Mechen, with the narrative ending in a comic reveal involving a chauffeur's cap. The campaigns became associated with local television culture and helped give the brand a cult following in the North East. PepsiCo ultimately concentrated its UK crisp strategy on Walkers and discontinued Tudor Crisps in 2003. The Peterlee factory remained in operation for many years after the brand disappeared, but Walkers closed the facility in December 2017, citing productivity and efficiency considerations, and transferred production to other UK sites. The former factory was purchased by Heather Mills in 2018 and reopened in 2022 as the base of the vegan snack business VBites. Tudor Crisps therefore survives primarily as a remembered regional brand rather than an active commercial range.
History
Tudor Food Products began producing Tudor Crisps in Sunderland in 1947. The company built a regional business serving North East England and Scotland, where it claimed to hold approximately two thirds of the crisp market. By the middle of the 1950s, Tudor had opened a further factory at Sandyford in Newcastle upon Tyne and was planning a major new plant at Peterlee in County Durham. The proposed 80,000-square-foot factory was expected to cost £250,000 and was designed around modern American machinery capable of producing about 250 tons of crisps per week on one shift. Smiths Crisps acquired Tudor in 1960 for £1 million. Smiths valued both Tudor's regional business and the modern Peterlee operation. The Tudor name remained in use, and the brand became a useful vehicle for product trials. Salt and vinegar crisps were launched through Tudor before being taken into Smiths' own range in 1966 and distributed nationally from 1967. Further experiments included Tudor-Ox, a meat-flavoured crisp introduced in 1963; Chopstix, a potato-stick snack with Eastern-style seasoning, in 1964; Tags, a rice-based snack shaped like a smile, in 1968; and mint-sauce crisps. The product portfolio also included familiar regional flavours such as gammon, pickled onion, tomato sauce and spring onion, together with Flips and savoury straws. Ownership of Smiths changed repeatedly. General Mills bought the company in 1966, and Peterlee expansion work began in 1967. General Mills sold Smiths to Associated Biscuits in 1978, and Nabisco acquired Associated Biscuits in 1982. During this period Smiths and Walkers were brought under the same wider ownership despite remaining distinct brands. RJR Nabisco's 1988 leveraged buyout created pressure to sell assets and reduce debt. PepsiCo subsequently bought Smiths and Walkers in 1989. Tudor's advertising was unusually local in tone. In the 1970s, commercials showed a paperboy being bribed with a bag of crisps to undertake a difficult newspaper delivery to a high-rise block, represented by Derwent Tower in Dunston, Tyne and Wear. In the 1980s, Allen Mechen played the adult version of the paperboy, apparently prosperous and travelling in a Rolls-Royce while eating Tudor Crisps. The final joke revealed that he was acting as the car's chauffeur. These commercials helped turn the brand into a culturally remembered part of North Eastern popular culture. After PepsiCo's acquisition, the company increasingly prioritised Walkers as its principal UK crisp brand. Tudor Crisps was discontinued in 2003. The Peterlee factory continued producing snacks for Walkers until its closure in December 2017, when the company cited productivity and efficiency savings and transferred production elsewhere in the United Kingdom. Heather Mills bought the site in 2018, and it reopened in 2022 as the base of VBites, a vegan snack business. The Tudor name is no longer an active mainstream brand, but it remains associated with regional flavour preferences, experimental crisps and distinctive local television advertising.
- 2022
Former factory becomes a VBites facility
[1]The former Peterlee plant reopens as the home of vegan snack business VBites.
- 2017
Peterlee factory closes
[1]Walkers closes the Peterlee site and moves production to other UK facilities.
- 2003
Brand discontinued
[1]Walkers ends Tudor Crisps and concentrates on its core crisp range.
- 1989
PepsiCo acquires Smiths and Walkers
[1]PepsiCo purchases Smiths and Walkers after the restructuring of RJR Nabisco's businesses.
- 1982
Nabisco acquires Associated Biscuits
[1]Nabisco's acquisition of Associated Biscuits brings Smiths under the same wider ownership as Walkers.
- 1978
Smiths sold to Associated Biscuits
[1]General Mills sells Smiths to Associated Biscuits.
- 1968
Tags snack launched
[1]Tudor tests Tags, a rice-based snack shaped like a smile.
- 1966
Salt and vinegar development reaches Smiths
[1]Salt and vinegar crisps first launched through Tudor are introduced into Smiths' own range.
- 1964
Chopstix introduced
[1]The brand trials Chopstix, a potato-stick snack with Eastern-style seasoning.
- 1963
Tudor-Ox trial
[1]Tudor tests Tudor-Ox, a meat-flavoured crisp, as part of its experimental product programme.
Products and positioning
A strongly regional North Eastern British snack brand known for potato crisps, local advertising, flavour experimentation and a distinctive connection with Sunderland, Newcastle and County Durham.
Potato crisps · 1947
Tudor potato crisps
The core Tudor range consisted of conventional potato crisps sold primarily in North East England and Scotland. Documented flavours included gammon, pickled onion, tomato sauce and spring onion. Salt and vinegar was an important development associated with the brand because Tudor introduced it before the flavour was adopted by Smiths and later distributed nationally.
Flavoured potato crisp · 1963
Tudor-Ox
Tudor-Ox was an experimental meat-flavoured crisp tested by Tudor in 1963. It illustrates the brand's role under Smiths as a platform for unusual flavour development rather than only a conventional regional crisp line.
Potato-stick snack · 1964
Chopstix
Chopstix was a potato-stick snack introduced in 1964 and seasoned with Eastern-style spices. It formed part of Tudor's series of trials exploring snack formats beyond standard flat potato crisps.
Rice-based snack · 1968
Tags
Tags was a rice-based snack with a smile-shaped form, tested by Tudor in 1968. The product demonstrates the brand's experimentation with non-potato formats during the Smiths ownership period.
Savoury potato snack
Flips
Flips were savoury potato snacks included in the Tudor product portfolio. They complemented the main crisp range and reflected the brand's broader positioning in packaged savoury snacks.
Savoury snack
Savoury Straws
Savoury Straws were a Tudor snack product in an elongated, straw-like format. They were part of the brand's discontinued assortment alongside potato crisps and other experimental snacks.
Special-edition potato crisp
Chocolate-flavoured special-edition crisps
Tudor also produced special-edition crisps using a chocolate flavour concept. The product was an example of the brand's willingness to test novelty flavours outside the traditional savoury range.
Marketing campaigns
- 1980Adult paperboy and Rolls-Royce campaign
North East England · Scotland
Later commercials brought back the paperboy as an apparently wealthy adult, played by Allen Mechen. He was shown eating Tudor Crisps while travelling in a Rolls-Royce, before the ending revealed that he was the chauffeur.
Outcome. The advertisements gave Allen Mechen and the paperboy character lasting local recognition and reinforced Tudor's regional cultural associations.
- 1970Canny bag of crisps paperboy campaign
North East England · Scotland
Television advertisements showed a paperboy being persuaded with a bag of Tudor Crisps to brave a difficult newspaper delivery to a high-rise tower block. The setting drew on recognizable North Eastern architecture, including Derwent Tower in Dunston, Tyne and Wear.
Outcome. The campaign established a strongly local advertising identity for Tudor and became part of the brand's later cult reputation.
Brand decisions
2017
Walkers closes Peterlee factoryStrategyBackground
The Tudor-associated Peterlee facility continued operating after the brand's discontinuation.
Action taken
Walkers closed the plant and transferred production to other UK facilities.
Aftermath
The site was purchased by Heather Mills in 2018 and reopened in 2022 for VBites.
2003
Walkers discontinues Tudor CrispsStrategyBackground
After PepsiCo acquired Smiths and Walkers, the UK business focused its crisp strategy on the Walkers brand.
Action taken
Walkers ended Tudor Crisps and concentrated its portfolio on the core Walkers range.
Aftermath
Tudor ceased to be an active commercial brand, although its regional advertising and product history remained culturally remembered.
1960
Smiths acquires TudorM&ABackground
Tudor had developed a regional market and was planning a technologically advanced Peterlee factory.
Action taken
Smiths Crisps purchased Tudor for £1 million and retained the brand within its wider business.
Aftermath
Tudor continued as a regional brand and became a testing ground for Smiths product innovations.
Acquisition price. £1 million (1960)
Sources1 sources
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