Walkers Bugles Southern Style BBQ Snacks, 110g

Bugles are little horn shaped corn snacks from Walkers, and Southern Style BBQ is the sweet barbecue one. This is the 110g sharing bag, which the pack says holds three to four servings. The full product name on the pack is Southern Style BBQ flavour corn snack, and the listing gives the United Kingdom as the country of origin.

The ingredients

According to the printed pack, the snacks are made from maize flour (corn), sunflower oil, a barbecue seasoning (flavourings containing onion and paprika powder, salt, sugar, an acidity regulator, sodium acetates, and paprika extract for colour), sugar, salt and a raising agent (sodium bicarbonate).

Horns

Each Bugle is a little hollow cone, like a horn, which the pack calls a fun shape. They sit on a fingertip, and the hollow gives a light, layered crunch.

Maize flour

Maize flour leads the list, and sodium bicarbonate, a raising agent, lightens the dough so the horns are crisp rather than hard.

Southern style barbecue

The seasoning is barbecue in the American southern style: sweet, tangy and savoury. Flavourings containing onion and paprika give the barbecue taste, with sugar for the sweetness.

Sodium acetates

Sodium acetates, made from the acid of vinegar, give the seasoning a light tang, like the vinegar in a barbecue sauce.

Sugar

Sugar appears twice, in the seasoning and on its own. The label gives 4.9g of sugars per 100g, green on the front of pack scale, just under the 5g line.

No added MSG

The back of the pack says no added MSG, no preservatives and no artificial colours. The colour is paprika extract.

Sunflower oil

Sunflower oil is the only oil on the list. The label gives 30g of fat per 100g, red on the front of pack scale, and 2.9g of saturates, amber.

Numbers per serving

The pack gives 158 kcal (660 kJ), 9g of fat, 0.9g of saturates, 17g of carbohydrate, 1.5g of sugars, 0.3g of fibre, 1.8g of protein and 0.55g of salt for a 30g serving, which it puts at 8% of an average adult's daily energy reference intake, 13% of the fat and 9% of the salt.

Numbers per 100g

Per 100g the pack gives 527 kcal (2201 kJ), 30g of fat, 2.9g of saturates, 58g of carbohydrate, 4.9g of sugars, 1.1g of fibre, 5.9g of protein and 1.8g of salt.

Reading the front of the pack

On the UK front of pack scale, per 100g, fat at 30g is red. Saturates at 2.9g are amber. Sugars at 4.9g are green. Salt at 1.8g is red.

Carbohydrate and protein

The label gives 58g of carbohydrate per 100g, of which 4.9g are sugars; the rest is starch from the maize. Fibre is 1.1g and protein 5.9g per 100g.

Onion and paprika

The flavourings contain onion and paprika powder, the savoury, peppery base of a barbecue rub, and paprika extract gives the horns their red orange colour.

Salt

The label gives 1.8g of salt per 100g and 0.55g in a 30g serving, red on the front of pack scale.

Saturates

Saturates are 2.9g per 100g, amber on the front of pack scale, and 0.9g in a serving.

Fun shape

The pack calls the horns a fun shape, and promises a tasty crunch.

Allergens and diet

No allergens from the UK list of 14 are highlighted in the printed ingredients. The allergy advice on the pack says the snacks may contain wheat, gluten, milk, soya, barley, mustard and crustaceans. The pack says they are suitable for vegetarians; there is no vegan statement. Recipes and factory arrangements change, so check the allergy advice on the pack you receive.

Three to four servings

The pack says it holds three to four servings of 30g. Tip a serving into a bowl rather than eating from the bag.

Once opened

The listing advises a cool, dry place and says to eat the snacks within 3 days of opening, so fold the bag down and clip it shut.

The pack

The dark red bag carries the Walkers logo, the word Bugles in large white letters, a few horn shaped snacks and the words southern style BBQ, with the 110g weight.

Who it suits

A sweet, smoky, crunchy horn suits anyone who likes barbecue snacks and a fun shape, and the vegetarian statement suits most tables. Anyone with an allergy should read the may contain advice, which includes crustaceans.

At a party

Put a bowl out at a party; Bugles sit on fingertips, which children like.

With a dip

A hollow horn scoops a little dip: try a soured cream and chive dip or a smoky barbecue sauce.

In the kitchen

Crushed, the horns make a barbecue crumb for chicken goujons or the top of a mac and cheese.

A family bag

The listing calls this a sharing bag for the whole family, three to four servings.

At a barbecue

A bowl of Bugles goes well beside burgers and corn on the cob at a summer barbecue.

In a lunchbox

Tip a handful into a small pot for a lunchbox, and clip the bag shut.

With salsa

A barbecue horn goes well with a tomato salsa.

A party bowl

Mix Bugles with plain crisps in a party bowl.

With drinks

A barbecue snack goes well with a cold beer, a cola or a lemonade.

The published listing gives the United Kingdom as the country of origin. The tasting notes on this page are our own editorial assessment against the current pack format and the brand's published description.