PepsiCo has launched a new WOW snack range in the UK, using Wotsits and Snack a Jacks to expand its non-HFSS offer as health rules continue to reshape the supermarket snacks aisle.

The range is launching first in Tesco with three six-pack products: Wotsits WOW Real Cheesy, Wotsits WOW Lightly Salted and Snack a Jacks WOW Apple & Cinnamon. Each multipack is priced at £2.30, with wider distribution planned from March 2027.

PepsiCo said the products were developed for family snacking occasions. The two Wotsits variants are made with chickpea flour and positioned as a source of fibre, while Snack a Jacks WOW Apple & Cinnamon is corn-based. All three products are non-HFSS and use natural ingredients and flavours.

The commercial point is not simply that another healthier snack has reached the shelf. PepsiCo is using two established UK brands to build a proposition that can operate more freely inside a retail environment where HFSS rules increasingly influence placement, promotion and advertising.

That gives WOW a different starting position from a new health-food brand. Wotsits and Snack a Jacks already have recognition, distribution and retailer relationships. PepsiCo can therefore change the nutritional proposition without asking buyers to create awareness for an unfamiliar parent brand.

For category managers, the Tesco-first launch is also useful. A controlled period with one major retailer gives PepsiCo sales, repeat-purchase and promotional data before the planned national expansion. If the range performs, the March 2027 rollout can begin with evidence from a large UK grocery estate rather than forecasts alone.

The £2.30 price point will matter. Better-for-you snacks still compete with mainstream multipacks for household spend, and the health proposition has to justify its place without moving too far away from the price expectations attached to familiar family brands.

The launch also shows how PepsiCo is responding to regulation through portfolio design rather than treating HFSS restrictions only as a marketing problem. Reformulation, new ingredients and extensions of established brands can preserve access to valuable supermarket occasions while changing the nutritional profile of the range.

That approach is becoming more important across UK FMCG. A non-HFSS product can give retailers more flexibility, but the product still needs rate of sale. Health credentials alone do not secure repeat purchase in snacks; taste, texture, value and brand familiarity remain central.

There is a further competitive issue for smaller better-for-you suppliers. Challenger brands helped build demand for products based on protein, fibre and alternative ingredients. Large FMCG groups can now bring those cues into brands with national scale, putting more pressure on independents to demonstrate something beyond the health claim itself.

For Tesco, the launch adds another non-HFSS family option without giving up a major branded supplier. For PepsiCo, it provides a live test of whether Wotsits and Snack a Jacks can stretch into a more health-led proposition without weakening the taste expectations associated with the brands.

The wider rollout from March 2027 will be the more important stage. If WOW secures listings across the major supermarket groups, it could become part of a broader shift in which mainstream snack manufacturers build non-HFSS ranges alongside their core products rather than relying only on reformulating existing SKUs.

Editor’s Note: This article is based on information released on 8 September 2026 about PepsiCo’s UK WOW launch, including initial Tesco distribution, product formats, pricing and the planned March 2027 expansion. Grocery Trade News added supermarket buying, FMCG competition and category context. No sales performance has been assumed for the new range.