Cracker memories save the day
Arnott’s Pizza and Barbecue Original Shapes are back on New Zealand shelves and Cheese & Bacon and Cheddar will return in July.
The company appears to have bowed to pressure from angry shoppers who are nostalgic for the old favourites.
It’s a dramatic U-turn on its message in September that the original flavours would not be back on sale in New Zealand. But Arnott’s won’t be dumping the the new flavours introduced last year. The four originals will be added to the lineup that includes Original Chicken Crimpy.
Arnott’s said it’s making the move after ‘‘monitoring consumer feedback’’ and discovering ‘‘the love Kiwis have for Original Shapes’’.
That ‘‘love’’ expressed itself with a huge social media backlash against the new flavours and demands for the return of the originals.
Shapes have been around since the 1950s so it’s no surprise that when the company shook things up it was taking a gamble customers would stay loyal.
At the height of the outcry, it was reported people were stockpiling boxes of Original crackers, and boxes were appearing on auction sites for crazy prizes to attract bidders who feared they’d lost their favourites forever.
Arnott’s said it changed the recipe to bigger, bolder flavours because Australasians had become more sophisticated and exposed to other cuisines. The new flavours were what they thought people wanted.
But the Original Chicken Crimpy flavour remained in the lineup because of its popularity with buyers, who eat 10 million packs of Shapes a year in New Zealand.