Pickled onion is not a subtle flavour. It’s vinegar and onion combined, sharp and aggressive, the kind of taste that announces itself and doesn’t apologise. It requires commitment.
Walkers doesn’t do commitment. Walkers does focus-grouped moderation. So their Pickled Onion is pickled onion with the edges sanded off, the intensity reduced to levels that won’t generate customer complaints.
It’s recognisably pickled onion. The vinegar is present. The onion is present. But the combination lacks the punch that makes this flavour worth choosing. You eat them and think “yes, pickled onion” rather than experiencing the face-scrunching, eye-watering reality of actual pickled onions.
Monster Munch does this better. Golden Wonder does this better. Even supermarket own-brands sometimes capture more of the aggressive spirit. Walkers’ version is pickled onion for people who find pickled onion too much.
Those people should choose a different flavour. Everyone else should choose a different brand.
