Watch out, Jamie – Twizzlers are back!

Fifteen years after Jamie Oliver’s successful campaign to have Turkey Twizzlers taken off school dinner menus, a new healthier version has sold out across the country. Brian Stormont finds out why...

Celebrity chef Jamie Oliver’s successful campaign to have Turkey Twizzlers removed from school dinner menus back in 2005 resulted in them being discontinued.

But fast forward 15 years and Turkey Twizzlers have made a successful return – in fact, if anything, their comeback has been too successful.

Bernard Matthews relaunched the controversial product in August in two new flavours – original tangy tomato and chilli cheese – and with double the amount of turkey than was contained in their original incarnation.

Sell-out

The Twizzlers are available from Iceland stores (and other major supermarkets) but many fans were left disappointed as stores quickly sold out of the products when they first relaunched.

Many took to Twitter to air their disappointment at the sell-out and Bernard Matthews said it was working hard to replenish stocks as quickly as possible.

One said: “Been to five @IcelandFoods stores today to try to get some Turkey Twizzlers for a friend and completely out of stock... seriously... when will this be resolved?”

Another fan said: “Went to two @IcelandFoods stores today to get me some Turkey Twizzlers, both had none. Today is a bad day.”

Iceland replied: “Hi Gavin, I am sorry to hear this, we are working hard to make sure that all our customers get their Twizzler fix ASAP. Thanks for your patience.”

Bernard Matthews tried to put Twizzlers addicts’ minds at ease with its statement: “Turkey Twizzler fiends, we’ve seen unprecedented demand for the next generation Turkey Twizzler.

“It’s been 15 years and we hope another few days doesn’t send you into Twizzler meltdown.”

Celebrity chef’s intervention

In 2005, Jamie Oliver made it his mission to improve the country’s school meals in his series Jamie’s School Dinners.

And one of his key pledges was to have processed foods removed from menus, with particular ire directed at the Turkey Twizzlers, which he said were bad for children’s health during the programmes aired on Channel 4.

A huge number of school meals contractors dropped them and, as a result, Turkey Twizzlers were discontinued.

For the 2020 rebirth of the Turkey Twizzler, Bernard Matthews has made some changes to the recipe.

Marketing director David Leigh said: “We have been discussing the return of the Twizzler for some time.

“Obviously, we’d like the product to go into schools, but for the minute we’ve focused on going into what I guess you’d call mass-market retail.”

More meat

In 2005, the Twizzler was only 34% meat and was 137kcal, while the 2020 version is now 70% meat and the kcals have been reduced by 50 to 87.

“If you look at our product now and let’s say you compared two pork sausages to two Twizzlers, there’s 83% more saturated fat in two average pork sausages compared to two Twizzlers,” added Mr Leigh.

“So, we have spent a lot of time making sure that we are delivering a significantly healthier product than it was before. It is very much a different product.”

And just in case you wanted more from your Turkey Twizzler, it’s going on tour!

A spokesperson for Bernard Matthews said: “To celebrate the comeback of the century, a giant Turkey Twizzler arrived in its hometown of Norwich at Great Witchingham Hall, where its legacy began.

“The statue will be doing a tour of the UK – check out our Instagram to see the latest!”

Obviously, we’d like the product to go into schools, but for the minute we’ve focused on going into what I guess you’d call mass-market retail

Bernard Matthews’ new Turkey Twizzlers have been a sell-out success since they were reintroduced