Monster Munch (History, Flavors & Commercials)

If you like a really spooky, crunchy snack, Monster Munch is a must-try. This snack comes from the British, but it’s also been wildly popular in several other countries through the years. It’s notorious for the interesting flavors, as well as the unique monster shapes that are in the bag. 

Learn more about Monster Munch below! 

History

Monster Munch is a British snack. In terms of consistency, it’s crunchy must like a Funyun is, but it’s not flavored the same way. This snack is called a corn snack. The original creators of it were the Walkers and Smiths brand. The Smiths came up with the snack, and the Walkers manufactured the snack. 

All of this began back in 1977, and it’s been an iconic snack for more than 40 years now. The original intention was to market these fun snacks to kids, but adults seem to love them just as much. 

It’s the flavors, the fun, and that delightful crunch that comes with it. Monster Munch is most popular throughout the United Kingdom, but there are several other countries where it is wildly popular as well. 

The pieces of Monster Crunch were noted to be shaped like monsters, or perhaps monster feet and claws. Of course, there is nothing out there that dictates this is the only look for monsters or their claws. It’s simply the design that they came up with for their products. 

Another popular trait is that Monster Crunch is vegetarian-friendly too. 

But let’s go back just a little way to the early years. We mentioned already that Monster Munch was first created by Smiths, which was a snack food company in the UK. The name at origin was actually The Prime Monster, which was a play on words for The Prime Minister, according to rumors. 

These tasty snacks were created to be part of a much larger campaign. The name didn’t last long and they changed it to Monster Munch Munchers in 1978, less than a year later. The snacks came in large bags, and were relatively affordable. The company deemed the tagline “the biggest snacks pennies can buy” because of these traits. 

When you purchased some of these munchers, each bag had different monster characters denoted by the company at the time. There were four different monsters, and you never knew which one would be on what bag. They didn’t really mean anything, except for representing the snack food. 

As the years went on, a fan club was developed. This club was the Monster Munch Club, and anyone who joined got a special membership that had a membership card, pen, books, a story tape, and some fun songs. It was a special perk and everyone (especially the kiddos) loved it. 

In the early years, the monsters varied a little bit, but the company chose four specific monsters that primarily represented the brand in the 1980s. The original designs had six monsters, but it was quickly whittled down to four, and those are what the packages displayed going forward. 

Before long, the monsters represented specific flavors from the brand so a certain flavor would have a certain monster, or mixed flavors might have multiple monsters. 

The roast beef flavor was represented by a pink monster. It was tall and gangly, and the color pink. That monster had a long, floppy tongue sticking out and also had wheels for feet. 

Then they had the blue monster. This monster represented saucy, sizzling bacon, and salt and vinegar flavors. It was a light blue, with a dark blue nose. It had four feet, floppy ears, four arms, and wore a fun hat in every depiction. 

The Pickled onion and cheese and onion monster was yellow. This yellow monster only had one eye. It also had a green mouth, and a large red nose. It just had a couple of teeth that were randomly placed, and some random limbs that were mismatched on the monster. 

Finally, the orange monster represented giant prawn and pickled onion flavors. This monster wasn’t as crazy or depictive, but still fun. It was just a large orange monster with a chubby body, arms, and legs. This monster had a lot of pink hair on the top of its head. 

These were the initial designs of the monsters, and they stayed that way until about 1995. In that year, the monsters were given a makeover. They remained similar in colors, but changed slightly. The shapes were also changed. 

The new monsters were these. 

• Pink and purple monster that was tall and pink with a wide mouth
• Blue or yellow monster that was furry and had an inverted head
• Red monster that closely resembled an ogre
• Orange monster that close resembled and ogre
• Vanilla ice cream monster that looked like melted vanilla ice cream, with a cherry and a wafer on top. 

In 2008, the brand went back to its roots, bringing back the old styles of monsters, but more limited. There were only three monsters with this revamp, but the look was similar to that of the first monsters, and represented the three flavors at the time. This included a pink, yellow, and blue monster. 

When Was Monster Munch Invented?

Monster Munch was originally invented in 1977. At that time, it was first called The Prime Monster. However, the name was changed to Monster Munch Munchers within a year of it being established. 

Now, this snack has remained under the same name for more than 40 years. The brand has seen a few changes over time, but most of the details and the overall design behind this snack have stayed the same. 

Who Owns Munster Munch Munchers?

Monster Munch is still owned by Smiths snack food company. This has been the owner ever since it was created, and they are also credited for designing the fun snack as well. However, Smiths partners with Walker in order to manufacture and produce the snack on a wider level. 

They do also produce in some other areas of the world, and the snack is known by different names in some of these countries. It can be found in the UK, Germany, USA, Canada, France, Sweden, Italy, Spain, Japan, and other countries too. 

There are Monster Munch varieties that are produced by some alternative brands as well, such as a potato crisp snack produced by Eta and Intersnack. 

Logo

Flavors

Now, with the original creators of Monster Munch Munchers, you will find that there are three specific flavors. There have been some other flavors in the past, but these are what you can find now. 

• Roast Beef
• Pickled Onion
• Flamin’ Hot

But these are not the only flavors the brand has ever seen. The roast been and pickled onion flavors have always been around, but Flamin’ Hot was introduced sometime around 2008. 

They have had some flavor changes and adjustments through the years. Some of the older flavors that are no longer around include Sizzling Bacon, Salt & Vinegar, Cheese and Onion, Saucy, Giant Prawn, Spaghetti Sauce, Beef Burger, and Vanilla Ice Cream. 

Ingredients

• Maize
• Rapeseed Oil
• Pickled Onion Seasoning (Flavorings, Whey Permeate (from Milk)
• Onion Powder
• Sugar
• Flavor Enhancers (Monosodium Glutamate, Disodium 5-ribonucleotide)
• Salt
• Potassium Chloride
• Garlic Powder
• Hydrolysed Soya Protein (contains Wheat)
• Acid (Citric Acid)
• Colour (Sulphite Ammonia Caramel)

Nutrition

Serving Size:	1 pack (22g)	% Daily Value*
Amount Per Serving
Calories	110
Calories from Fat	45
Total Fat	5g	8%
Saturated Fat	1g	5%
Polyunsaturated Fat	0.7g
Monounsaturated Fat	2.9g
Cholesterol	0mg	0%
Sodium	209mg	9%
Potassium	31mg	1%
Total Carbohydrates	14g	5%
Dietary Fiber	0.9g	3%
Sugars	1.1g
Protein	1.7g
Vitamin A		0.5%
Vitamin C		0.7%
Calcium		0.5%
Iron		4.5%

• Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000-calorie diet.

Pictures

Commercials

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nK6Q5IvnL54

Conclusion

Monster Munch is one of those companies that while there have been a few changes through the years, they have remained fairly steadfast as well. The brand name only changed once, which was at the very beginning. Most of their flavors have stayed similar or the same, with a few changes. The manufacturers and the owners have never changed. 

It’s a great snack, that can be a lot of fun. You can purchase Monster Munch Munchers any time of year, and just enjoy the spooky flavors, the monster madness, and the delightful crunch!