Wheat Crunchies are puffed wheat snacks made by KP Snacks, available in Spicy Tomato and Crispy Bacon. They have been a British snack staple since the 1970s and have a cult following built entirely on flavour and texture. You can buy a case of 16 x 70g Wheat Crunchies Spicy Tomato at One Pound Sweets.
What are Wheat Crunchies?
Wheat Crunchies are a puffed wheat snack made by KP Snacks. Unlike a standard potato crisp, which is sliced and fried, Wheat Crunchies are made from wheat that has been extruded and puffed to create a light, crunchy texture that is distinct from anything else in the snack aisle. The shape is tubular with a slightly irregular surface, and the texture is airy and crunchy rather than dense.
They come in two flavours: Spicy Tomato and Crispy Bacon. Both have been part of the range for most of the brand’s life and both have their dedicated fans, though the debate over which is better is one of those arguments that never gets resolved.
A brief history of Wheat Crunchies
Wheat Crunchies have been around since the 1970s, making them one of the older surviving crisp brands in the UK. KP Snacks has manufactured them throughout, and unlike many snacks from that era they have survived largely unchanged. No reformulation controversies, no surprise discontinuations, no rebranding exercises. They have just quietly been there.
That consistency is a big part of why the cult following exists. People who ate Wheat Crunchies as kids find them exactly as they remember when they go back to them, which is not something you can say about every snack from that period. The flavour has not been tweaked to death.
The Spicy Tomato flavour
Spicy Tomato is the one more commonly associated with Wheat Crunchies in most people’s minds, probably because the orange-red bag is so visually distinctive. The flavour is a tomato base with a genuine warmth to it, not aggressively hot but noticeably spiced in a way that builds slightly as you eat. It is savoury and slightly sweet from the tomato, with the heat sitting underneath rather than hitting you immediately.
The flavour works particularly well with the puffed wheat base because the light texture means the seasoning does not get lost in the crunch the way it can with denser crisps. Each piece is well coated and the flavour is consistent bag to bag, which sounds basic but is worth noting given how many budget snacks fail on that front.
A case of 16 x 70g bags is available at One Pound Sweets, which is the most cost-effective way to buy them. At 70g per bag there is a solid amount of crisp here, and buying by the case rather than picking up individual bags from a supermarket makes a real difference to the per-bag price.
The Crispy Bacon flavour
Crispy Bacon is the smokier, more savoury option of the two. The flavour is distinctly bacony rather than generic smoky, with that slightly salty, meaty quality that works well with the light puffed wheat base. It sits in a different flavour territory to Spicy Tomato rather than competing with it directly, which is why plenty of people have a clear preference for one or the other rather than being indifferent between them.
One Pound Sweets currently stocks the Spicy Tomato rather than Crispy Bacon, but if the Bacon is your go-to it is worth checking back as the range does change.
Why Wheat Crunchies have a cult following
The honest answer is that they taste genuinely good and they are slightly under the radar. They are not pushed heavily in supermarkets, they do not get the shelf space that Walkers or Pringles gets, and they have never had a viral moment or a celebrity endorsement. What they have had for fifty-odd years is a consistent product that delivers what it promises every single time.
People who discover them tend to become repeat buyers. The texture is different enough from a standard crisp to feel like a proper alternative rather than just another option in the snack aisle, and the flavouring is bold enough to make them satisfying in a way that lighter snacks are not.
For offices, snack cupboards and anyone who eats crisps regularly, buying by the case is a straightforward way to make sure you are never without them. A case of 16 bags of Spicy Tomato at One Pound Sweets comes with free delivery on qualifying orders and works out considerably better value than supermarket pricing on individual bags.
If you want to explore other crisps in the KP family alongside Wheat Crunchies, the crisps and snacks category has McCoy’s, Space Raiders and more.
Frequently asked questions
Everything you need to know about Wheat Crunchies