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The people behind potatoes

From Walkers’ founding father to our friendly supply farmers, people are the secret to our success.

Henry walker
King of crisps

In 1948, a local butcher named Henry Walker began to sell hand-sliced potato crisps to the lucky people of Leicester. Several million spuds later, Walkers became a pioneer in the world of flavoured crisps, introducing original combinations inspired by Britain’s favourite foods.

1oo% British Potatoes

Our precious produce comes from British seed growers and farms, from Land's End to the Scottish Highlands, so we can proudly say our potatoes are 100% British. Take a look at our map of suppliers to find a potato farm near you. (Walkers Core and 45% Less Salt potato crisp ranges only).

Meet Tim

Where: York
Grows: Potatoes
Favourite snack: Walkers Prawn Cocktail Crisps

Tim and his dog, Spud, have been growing potatoes for Walkers for many years. As a grower for Walkers, Tim is part of the Sustainable Farming Program, and is working with Walkers to reduce the impact that growing potatoes has on the environment. Tim recently featured in our TV ad and helped turn around 30,000 potato crops into Walkers ‘biggest’ advertising campaign to date by making a 73,532 square foot ‘cropvert’, ensuring no potatoes were harmed in the creation!

I’m very proud to be a Walkers grower, to be supplying potatoes to the biggest crisp manufacturer in Britain, the best crisp manufacturer in Britain...how could you not be proud of that!

Meet Margaret

Where: Lancashire
Grows: Potatoes
Favourite snack: Walkers Prawn Cocktail Crisps

Margaret, her husband Andrew, and their sons, Christopher and Matthew all work on their farm. Margaret recently featured in our TV ad and has been growing potatoes for Walkers for over a decade, and her family farm is less than 10 miles from the nearest Walkers factory. This means potatoes can be harvested, graded, washed and delivered in less than four hours!

I’m proud to be a farmer, proud to be a farmer’s wife and proud to be a Walkers grower. I wouldn’t do anything else. The reward we get from doing this job is planting and sowing our crops in the best conditions that we can and harvesting the best that we can. If you give it 100%, and have mother nature and weather on your side, the end result is a win-win for the farmers, Walkers and the consumers!

Meet Gavin

Where: North Hampshire
Grows: Potatoes
Favourite snack: Walkers Cheese & Onion Crisps

Gavin recently featured in our TV ad. His family have been growing potatoes for Walkers crisps since 1977, when his father Richard first started working with Walkers. The love for potatoes and crisps has been handed down to Gavin and his brothers, who are championing sustainable growing practices on their farm.

We only have one planet, we’re only going to be here once, so we need to look after it, future generations depend on this. Sustainable farming and regenerative farming is the way forward.

Meet Emily

Where: Shropshire
Grows: Potatoes
Favourite snack: Walkers Prawn Cocktail Crisps

Emily’s family have been growing potatoes for Walkers for 60 years. Recently featuring in our TV ad, Emily is a trainee Farm Manager and Sustainability Officer at her family’s farm and is passionate about sustainable growing practices. She believes that using our resources sustainably will help ensure good quality crops are produced for years to come.

Agriculture is in a period of really exciting change, with large advances in technology and practices helping improve sustainability and efficiency in ways that haven't been possible before. Getting to be part of a business that embraces that is incredibly rewarding.

Meet Harry

Where: Nottinghamshire
Grows: Potatoes
Favourite snack: Sensations Thai Sweet Chilli

Sherwood Forest-based farmer Harry Strawson and Walkers go together like salt & vinegar. Harry is the third generation of family to grow potatoes for Walkers, and plays an active part in the mission to lower food miles by delivering to the Walkers factory just 45 minutes away in Leicester.

I love our family’s history with Walkers, and have seen our partnership go from strength to strength over the years. We’re in a privileged position to produce potatoes for Walkers, and are delighted to be able to work sustainably with them.

Meet Andrew

Where: Scaftworth, Nottinghamshire
Grows: Potatoes, Dairy, Wheat, Barley and Sugar Beet
Favourite snack: Walkers Worcester Sauce

Andrew and his friend John started growing potatoes on their farm in 2000, and haven’t looked back since. In 2003, they became members of the local growing group for larger scale supply, and started producing potatoes for Walkers. The duo have since been able to add a second generation to the team, with John’s son Tom now learning the ropes.

Since our first crop for Walkers in 2004, we’re proud to say we’ve gone on to grow 9,500 tonnes of potatoes for Walkers – I can’t quite imagine how many crisps that is!

Meet Robin

Where: Shropshire
Grows: Potatoes
Favourite snack: Walkers Prawn Cocktail Crisps

Robin’s potato farm is a family affair, with his brother, dad and nine-year-old son, all being part of the close-knit team in rural Shropshire. They’ve built up a long-lasting partnership with Walkers, supplying their first potatoes in 1976.

Our farm sits on a National Trust estate and is in the higher tier stewardship scheme, so we’re lucky enough to be able to teach classes of school children about our potatoes and the importance of sustainability.

Fresh Taste
Guaranteed

Founded in 1948 by Henry Walker, we’ve put unbeatable quality at the heart of everything we do for over 70 years…

We harvest the finest potatoes from farms all over Britain – and when they reach our factory, they’re floated out of the truck to keep them in perfect nick.

Our spuds are washed, peeled, sliced and cooked to give them that golden glow, and seasoned whilst warm with our famous flavours!

We’re aiming for potato perfection, so we run taste tests six times a day. And for you to enjoy the great Walkers taste, we use protective packets to lock in freshness, so your crisps taste as good as the day they were cooked… that’s the Walkers guarantee.

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