Mondelēz’s new baked Ritz chips contain more fat than its Lay’s counterpart

The company recently announced it had a "successful launch"​ in the UK.

The product range, named Crisp & Thins, comes with four varieties including sea salt, cream cheese & onion, bacon, and salt & vinegar, retailing for $3.69 at select stores across the US.

Market research firm Euromonitor has indicated the UK is the biggest market for savory snacks in Western Europe with annual sales of over $7bn. Potato chips is by far the most popular type of snack in the UK, largely due to tradition.

However, the potato chip category has an unhealthy image, with consumers increasingly viewing these products as high in fat, Euromonitor noted.

“Potato chips are furthermore disadvantaged by tax in the UK, being taxed at 15%, while savory snacks that contain less than 50% potato content are tax free.” ​

Less fat than fried chips​

Other major chip brands, including PepsiCo-owned Lay chips, Bare Snacks and Kettle Foods have previously launched baked products instead of fried versions to combat this unhealthy tax.

Now, Mondelēz said in a release, Ritz Crisp & Thins is “rolled thin and oven baked with 50% less fat than the leading fried potato chip.” ​

However, despitre a fat content of 4.5g, this is still higher that Bare Snacks' baked fruit chips that contain 0g of fat, while Kettle Fods' baked potato chips that only contain 3g of fat per bag.

Mondelēz also owns baked chips brand Good Thins, containing 5g of total fat per box.

Crackers category​

Mondelēz has previously sold other Ritz’s products in the US market.

The Ritz’s crackers segment posted sales of $493m, declining by 4.78% compared to last year, according to IRI data.

Mondelēz’s overall cracker portfolio, which also includes Triscuit and Wheat Thins, generated total sales of nearly $2bn, according to the same data sheet. That represents a 0.48% increase.