Nik Naks

Nik Naks are a type of extruded corn snack previously manufactured by Golden Wonder in the United Kingdom, following the successful take over of Sooner Snacks. The brand was purchased by United Biscuits in 2006. KP (United Biscuits) now make Nik Naks and Wheat Crunchies.

They are available in four flavours:

• Scampi 'n' Lemon (Green bag)
• Nice 'n' Spicy (Orange bag)
• Rib 'n' Saucy (Purple bag)
• Pickle 'n' Onion (Red bag)

The first flavours were Cheese (not to be confused with "Cream n Cheesy"), Nice n Spicy, and Scampi & Lemon. The product re-appeared briefly as a Marks and Spencer's own brand, available in family sized packets only in Nice n Spicy flavour; disappearing from the shops entirely in the early nineties.

In the mid 90's, the flavours were Nice n Spicy, Cream and Cheesy, and Rib n Saucy. Rib n Saucy replaced Scampi and Lemon as a move to make consumers feel that Nik Naks was a less smelly brand. Sales of Nik Naks grew by 32% once the "smelly" flavour was removed. At some point a Hard Cheese flavour was introduced and later discontinued. On Valentine's Day 1994 Golden Wonder released Ltd Edition Naughty 'N' Saucy flavour Nik Naks and for a limited time a Tomato and Mayonnaise flavour, and the aphrodisiac ingredient was 0.01% Guarana Seed Extract. Scampi & Lemon made a comeback in 2002, just before being sold to KP and United Biscuits. The Scampi & Lemon then replaced the Cream & Cheesy flavour in multipacks from 2006.

From 2008 the Scampi n Lemon flavour was phased out to make room for the new Pickle n Onion flavour. However, Scampi N Lemon remains in multipacks as of 2012.

The brand ran a notable advertising campaign in the 90s created by animator Bill Plympton, based on his short film Push Comes to Shove, in which two men's heads transform into a variety of shapes. . This was subsequently followed up by 5 second adverts describing how ugly the snack was. In 1993, the brand ran an instant win promotion giving away rubbish. Such things as tummy fluff, 2p piece, bits of string were given away.

During 2004-5, its advertising led with the tag line 'Eat The Freak', coined due to their odd appearance. One commercial, set on a cross-Channel ferry, was a modern parody of the sci-fi classic Alien, wherein a passenger eats a Nik Nak only to have it explode from his stomach and begin dancing to Le Freak by Chic.