History and Research

a corn snack available in the UK, Republic of Ireland and France which is produced by Prime Enterprises trading as Walkers. Although the snack is largely aimed at children, the snack is enjoyed widely by people of all ages. Walkers Pickled Onion Monster Munch is the company's 9th best-selling snack.

Smiths Monster Munch (1977-1995)

Monster Munch was launched in Britain in 1977, originally produced by Smiths. Originally called "The Prime Monster" (in reference to the brand producer, and as part of a wider campaign), the decision was taken to rename the snack "Monster Munch" in 1978. Advertised as 'The Biggest Snack Pennies Can Buy' (referring to the then-relatively-large size of the crisps), each pack featured a different monster on the front of the packet. There was even a "Monster Munch Club" available at some point during the period where Smiths owned the snack food. Members of the club received a "Monster Munch Munchers" membership pack, which included a membership card, pen, several story books, and a story tape which included six "tall stories" and accompanying songs.

Original monsters

There was an original sextet of monsters who would advertise the snack, however there were four main monsters featured on the packaging. These monsters came back on Monster Munch packets in 2009.

Monster	Description	Flavour
Pink Monster	A tall, pink, gangly creature with a floppy tongue	Roast Beef
Blue Monster	A behatted blue creature with floppy-ears and four arms	Smokey Bacon
Yellow Monster	A yellow, one-eyed creature with a red nose	Saucy
Orange Monster	A fat, orange creature with pink hair	Pickled Onion

Flavours

Monster Munch was originally available throughout the Smith's ownership in a variety of flavours over the years including Roast Beef, Pickled Onion, Saucy Tomato, Bacon, Cheese & Onion, King Prawn and Salt & Vinegar. 'Pickled Onion' has remained in the selection throughout the years, with 'Roast Beef' appearing in almost every combination. By the '90s there were four main flavours available: 'Pickled Onion', 'Roast Beef', 'Smokey Bacon' and 'Saucy'.

The original Monster Munch used two different snack shapes: these related to two of the Monsters used in the advertisements. The shape known as a 'monster paw' that is still used today is based on the eye of the cycloptic yellow monster, with the 'toes' representing the eyelashes. There was also another shape representing the gangly, long-tongued pink monster: this was circular with two bumps on the top for eyes, protrusions on either side and a tongue dangling down. For a limited time in the early 90s, there were also spider shaped Monster Munch in a smokey bacon flavour.

A short-lived range of Monster Munch themed drinks - Monster Fizz - was available in the 1980s. The small range of flavours included orangeade.