Snack innovator making a noise with nuts
An innovative range of self-seasoning snacks for the growing craft beer market in particular has been launched in Northern Ireland by Noisy Nuts, a recently established food business and a member of FoodNI.
Noisy Nuts, which is based in Ballygowan, county Down, is the brainchild of Noel Allen, an experienced marketer who helped to ensure the success of energy drink Boost in Northern Ireland.
He has developed a six-strong range of 85g snack pots of peanuts which are available with different seasoning sachets. The seasonings with peanuts are: Pickled Onion, Chilli and Lime, Chilli Beef, Chocolate Orange, Thai Sweet Chilli, and Bacon and Jalapeno (RRP £3).
Explaining the decision to name the business Noisy Nuts, Mr Allen, former marketing manager of Boost Drinks in Northern Ireland, says: “The idea is that customers open the pack of peanuts in the pot, then the accompanying sachet of seasoning and sprinkle over the nuts, then close the top and shake the contents. It’s quite a noisy operation, hence Noisy Nuts.”
Consumers can pour the whole seasoning sachet in and shake the pot giving a strong flavour or season as they wish to fit with their beer drinking taste.
His decision to set up Noisy Nuts was influenced by his love of craft beers, now a thriving category in Northern Ireland. “I enjoy peanuts with my beer and had noticed that the they often impacted the flavour. This led me to see if I could come up with a way to flavour the nuts to compliment the beers.
“With hundreds of different craft beer breweries in the UK, including upwards of 40 in Northern Ireland and more than 3,500 different craft beers on sale I reckoned there was an opportunity to produce a complimentary interesting snack for this buoyant and increasingly growing market.
“Craft beer drinkers are all about taste and we’re giving them an original snack that will enhance their drinking experience,” Mr Allen adds.
The individual pots include recommendations on the best flavourings to match with the types of beer.
