Who Makes Sainsbury's Crisps (Are They Good? Quality + More)

Sainsbury’s has been around since 1869 so it’s no wonder that they’re the second largest supermarket in the UK and needless to say — they’ve got a lot of their own brands available! So, with that in mind, who makes Sainsbury’s crisps?

According to Sainsbury’s business model literature, Sainsbury’s crisps and other products are sourced through the UK, as well as a host of 70 other countries. This includes rigorous testing to ensure that the products are of the highest quality and meet the standards associated with the Sainsbury signature brand.

In today’s article, we’ll tell you a little more about Sainsbury crisps, including Sainsbury’s history, quality control, and whether or not any supermarkets are making their own crisps these days.

Let’s take a closer look at Sainsbury’s and their signature, delicious crisp products!

Table of Contents

What are Sainsbury’s crisps?

If you aren’t familiar with the brand, Sainsbury’s crisps are a crisp (or ‘potato chip’) brand marketed by the UK’s 2nd largest supermarket chain – Sainsbury’s.

These crisps are really something special, too, as they are not only competitively priced, but they have an amazing assortment of flavors.

Here are some examples:

Aberdeen Angus Steak and Shallot
Sea Salt and Cider Vinegar
Lamb, Rosemary, and Garlic
Thai Sweet Chili
Camembert and Rosemary

These are just a few examples, of course, but you get the idea. You can get your favorite flavors and discover lots of new ones on the way.

Say what you will, but Sainsbury’s is certainly serious when it comes to crisps!

How Sainsbury sources their products

Sainsbury’s describes themselves in their business model literature as a multi-product and multi-channel business and since they’ve been around for almost a century and a half, they’ve had a lot of time to do it right!

When it comes to their Sainsbury brand, many of their products will be sourced directly through UK suppliers, though they also have suppliers in 70 countries outside the UK for the more than 23,000 products which they provide.

Out of these products, around 40% of them will carry the Sainsbury’s brand, which is around 9200 plus products at last estimation.

These products are held to the rigorous standards of Sainsbury’s and quality tested on a regular basis. One good example of this is ‘Crunch-O-Meter’ which was introduced to their testing labs in 2016 when customers voted in a poll that ‘crunch-less crisps’ were high on their list of things that can really reduce proper Christmas cheer.

With the Crunch-O-Meter, items such as pretzels, crackers, peanuts, and crisps can be easily tested to see how much force it takes to break them, helping to ensure that if someone has gotten themselves some boring, crunch-less crisps, that they didn’t get them from Sainsbury’s.

Read also: Who Makes Kirkland Kettle Chips?

A little history on Sainsbury’s

When we said that Sainsbury’s has been around since 1869 we weren’t kidding. The first store, opened in Holburn, London by John James and Mary Ann Sainsbury, had it’s humble beginnings at 173 Drury lane.

Starting off with fresh foods, they quickly took on extra products such as sugar, tea, and other packaged products and even one-upped their largest competitor ‘Home; Colonial” in their chosen décor.

Home and Colonial, at the time, has sawdust floors and wooden counters, while the Sainsbury’s went with mosaic tiled floors and marble countertops. Classy from the start.

This certainly paid off, as by the 1920s there were even more Sainsbury’s, and each of them had 6 departments where you could also get dairy and various meat products, and by 1928 when Mr. Sainsbury died there were 128 stores!

Fast forward to the modern-day, and Sainsbury’s has over 600 supermarkets and 800 convenience stores as well.

It’s quite the climb and we’re happy to say that they’ve kept and even set some excellent standards which continue to this very day.

Do any supermarkets really make their own crisps?

While Sainsbury’s relies on suppliers for many of their brands, that’s actually not so uncommon, especially with larger businesses and the exponentially larger demand for specific products.

In most cases, when it comes to producing their own products, businesses such as supermarkets usually reserve this for dairy and meats.

This is more cost effective and also gives them absolute control, which is vitally important with these sorts of perishable goods. As such, if you do find a store that makes their own crisps, it really is a bit of a rarity.

The best bet for obtaining snacks such as crisps that have been made in a specific location is to simply find a local vendor that produces specifically these sorts of products.

Walker’s crisps, for instance, are made ‘in-house’, though even then some of the ingredients are going to be ‘mostly’ sourced from the UK and European suppliers.

Conclusion

Today we’ve attempted to provide you with all you need to know in regards to the question, “who makes Sainsbury’s chips?”.

While the specific supplier is a close-kept secret, their publicly available literature tells us that Sainsbury brands are sourced from the UK and from 70 countries which makes us their colossal supplier base.

Just remember, though, that ingredients (especially exotic spices) aren’t always available locally and with a company like Sainsbury’s, you aren’t just buying the crisps – you’re also buying the standards used to rate their quality.

With just over 150 years doing business, we’d have to say that if anyone is right for that job, it would certainly be Sainsbury’s and in any case – they really do make a mean crisp!

References

https://www.about.sainsburys.co.uk

Who Makes Sainsbury’s Crisps (Are They Good? Quality + More)