Walkers Monster Munch (1995–2008)
In 1995, Walkers relaunched the Monster Munch brand with a range of four flavours. A new lineup of monsters were introduced and the original shapes of the snack were replaced with a smaller shaped paw using a twin screw extruder instead of the single screw extruders used before. The base ingredients were changed to 100% maize and the overall salt content reduced.
Alongside the returning Pickled Onion and Flamin' Hot (Mega Monster Munch only), two new flavours, Beef Burger and Spaghetti Sauce, were introduced. A wide range of Tazos, featuring images of the monsters, was produced, with one Tazo included in each bag.
Since then, various packaging changes and new flavours have been introduced. Monster Munch was later part of Walkers' short-lived "Snackshack" lineup during 1997–1998. A New Cheesy flavour replaced the Spaghetti Sauce Flavour at this time, and the Blue Monster was recoloured Yellow. Flamin' Hot was later introduced in the multipacks at this time, replacing Beef Burger.
In April 1998, when Walkers changed its logo, Monster Munch changed their packaging and introduced a new logo. A Spicy flavour was released in August 2000, replacing Cheesy (with the Yellow Monster being retired in the process) and a new Purple Monster (which looked like the Pink Monster from the first era) was the main monster for that flavour.[7]
In August 2001, Walkers announced a special Halloween variant of the Pickled Onion flavour that could turn the consumer's tongue blue, and was promoted with The Beano and The Dandy comics and three ten-second spots that would air on Boomerang.[8]
On 28 September 2002, Walkers announced that the "Tongue" variant of Pickled Onion would be reintroduced as a "Mystery Tongue" variant, where the consumer's tongue could turn either blue or green.[9] On the same day, it was announced that the Roast Beef flavour would be reintroduced after a seven-year hiatus, replacing the Spicy flavour.[10] The packaging said "NEW" on the top and in front of the pack, as it was not the same flavouring as the Roast Beef that was previously sold.
In February 2003, a "Baked Bean" flavour was released as part of Walkers' Comic Relief promotion.,[11] however, it was only included within multipacks with their Baked Bean crisps. On 21 April, another limited edition variety - "Vanilla Ice Cream" flavour was sold for 16 weeks[12] and was released to a mostly negative reaction. Unlike any other Walkers product or any crisp for that matter, this variety was not savoury and swapped the salt with sugar.[13]
In September 2004, the Tongue variant returned as "Spooky Tongue", consolidating with new Halloween-themed packaging and the introduction of "Ghost Shape" variant of Quavers.[14] However, unlike the 2002 version, it reverted back solely to turning a consumer's tongue blue, like with the 2001 version. This version returned for one more year in 2005.[15]
In February 2007, Walkers announced they would relaunch their snack range, including Monster Munch. The relaunch reflected the addition of Sunseed Oil to the product, similar to the refresh of the main Walkers Crisps range the year prior.[16] The Multipack bags were in a different layout, being in Landscape style. For Monster Munch, while the logo and packaging were changed, the monsters (now depicted in CGI animation) and flavours remained the same.
