NEW PRODUCTS: Burton's Fish 'n' Chips Brown and Red Sauce

Brown sauce or red sauce? It's a divisive question with many Brits firmly falling on one side or the other. Personally, forced to choose, I would have to go with brown sauce; however, I do appreciate both - you certainly wouldn't catch me eating a fish finger sandwich without the liberal application of ketchup. To that end, I've kept an open mind about Burton's new Fish 'n' Chips products which pitch these two mighty accompaniments against one another in savoury biscuit form.

Adorned in the brand's classic 80's newspaper-inspired livery, I'll get straight to it and say that these look great. Opening the multi-pack reveals five very sweet, miniature packets - somewhat evocative of the old Mini Cheddars bags in size. Whilst, thanks to that newspaper design, the packaging artwork is full of the charm and interest that made this brand so memorable in the first place. As for the look of the snacks themselves, they're fun too with the biscuits sporting rudimentary yet effective fish and chip forms. Brilliant stuff that speaks for itself.

Taste-wise, the base snack sports a reasonably thick frame with a light biscuit texture that's pretty distinctive. With regards to the brown sauce flavour, the key ingredient is prominent with a definite taste of vinegar bounding through to ensure the snack can't be accused of blandness. Given its acidity, I can't say it's the brown sauce flavour I'm most accustomed to, that is, HP or Daddies Sauce; however, it's consistent with other brands I've tried in the past.

Moving on to the tomato ketchup variant, once again, this flavour isn't on the fence with tomato very much identifiable. That said, yet again, I can't say the flavour is totally reminiscent of the sauce I'm most used to, Heinz ketchup. Indeed, the tomato in these biscuits is actually less synthetic tasting with much more of the vegetable's flavour coming through. 

So which flavour did I like best and why? Well, I have to give it to brown sauce on this occasion. Whilst both products could have benefited from a touch of sweetness in my book, the tomato one was just a bit to tomatoey for my palate. 

Overall, these look superb and I'm impressed how Burton's have incorporated the flavour of the sauces so distinctly. For those that like a vinegary twang and/or a reasonably natural tasting tomato snack, I think these will be a particular winner. Oh, and if you do pick them up, be sure to vote for your favourite flavour on the brand's Facebook page - there's a chance of winning £10,000. 

BRAND LINKS

Burton's Website - Fish 'n' Chips Page

Burton's Fish 'n' Chips Facebook

Burton's Fish 'n' Chips Twitter

NOSTALGIA HIT: Shredded Wheat

Some classic ads again as James Bond's Jaws joins sporting legends, Botham, Clough and Charlton, in extolling the virtues of good old Shredded Wheat. Enjoy.






BRAND LINKS
Nestle Website - Shredded Wheat Page
Shredded Wheat UK Twitter

RETRO REVIVAL: McVitie's Trio

Big blast from the past time. Trio, a marriage of biscuit, toffee and chocolate originally manufactured by Jacob's, once again graces store shelves! The revival has come as a result of McVitie's - present owner of the Jacob's brand - giving in to what it described as "massive consumer demand". That said, it's only a limited edition return for this cult classic so I was keen to try it out to see if the 2016 version is worth stocking up on. 

Presentation-wise, the multi-pack design is instantly recognisable as it borrows straight from the late 80's/90's look. Indeed, the brand name typeface directly picks up on the advertising from yesteryear in which an animated girl called Suzy would shout 'Trio' repeatedly - if you're not familiar with this, see the end of this post. To be honest, on today's shelves the design still works really well with the loud presentation feeling sufficiently differentiated amongst the mass of competing offerings. 

Moving on to the design of the individual bars, the artwork condenses down really neatly and I am delighted by the use of paper. On the latter point, I've written about this before, but, generally, I really dislike brands use of plastic as the go-to option. I say this purely on aesthetic grounds as, for me, plastic just signals cheapness and mass production. On the other hand, glass, foil, paper, card etc generally make a product feel a bit more special and cared for - even if that isn't the case at all.

As for the look of the bar itself, there's no lack of character as it harks back to the original with three segments sporting an embossed 'Trio' brand name.

Taste-wise, I'm very glad to say the 2016 Trio hits the spot. Expecting an overly hefty dose of sugar to overwhelm the palate, I was delighted to find they've been pretty restrained. Indeed, the biscuit layer is really quite plain and the chocolate boasts nice milky, cocoa flavours rather than pure sweetness. All of this provides perfect support for the sweeter toffee cream layer creating a balanced and rather tasty offering.

In summary, these bars are a great throw back with a few modern temptations pleasingly avoided. Moreover, the bars taste great with all three layers adding something different whilst complementing one another. These get a definite GBD thumbs up from me. 

Oh, and on the advertising front it's worth mentioning that McVitie's are currently looking for people to feature in the bar's new ad. If you're interested, see here - you'll need to scroll down the page for details. That aside, this wouldn't be a retro revival post without indulging in some advertising nostalgia...

BRAND LINKS
McVitie's Website
McVitie's Twitter
United Biscuits Website - McVitie's Page