New artisan sweet potato crisps from Northern Irish fitness experts

Artisan sweet potato crisps have been developed in Northern Ireland by a small company with a background in nutrition and fitness.

The new crisps have been launched under the quirky Wolf and Woodsman brand, an artisan food business established by three fitness enthusiasts who run a successful strengthening and conditioning gym specialising in CrossFit, The White Wolf. Both businesses are based in Lisburn, county Antrim.

Original Wolf and Woodsman sweet potato crisps are available in 35g backs retailing at around £1. Further flavours are in the pipeline along with a bigger 140g bag.

Behind both ventures are identical twin brothers Jonny and Andy Laverty and David Knowles. They set up the gym in 2014 and have decided to develop healthy snacks as part of their commitment to nutrition and fitness.

Jonny Laverty, commenting on the new crisps, says: "We've seen the development of various products such as protein bars aimed at the growing fitness and nutrition. So, we decided to start creating our own range of healthier products and carried out extensive market research to explore opportunities.

"We identified a gap in the market for sweet potato crisps because they are lower in fat and delicious. We buy the sweet potatoes in the US and cook them in sunflower oil, which was chosen after tests with a number of oils. The sunflower oil gave us the flavour profile we wanted and is regarded as a healthier oil. There's also no added sugar in the crisps," he adds.

The choice of the Wolf and Woodsman branding reflects their original gym business, continues Mr Laverty. They wanted a brand with a distinctively artisan feel.

The business partners are kitting out a small factory unit in Lisburn for the production and packaging of the new crisps which currently have a shelf-life of four months. They've also received support from their bank

"We've taste tested the crisps on friends and family and received universally positive feedback. This response encouraged us to push ahead with the launch of the original sweet potato crisps and to start planning additional flavours. It's a very challenging but immensely exciting development for us, another stage in our business journey," he adds.

They are pitching the new crisps to leading delis, independent retailers, cafes and bars in Northern Ireland as a first stage.