Tayto Group
Golden Wonder, Jonathan Crisp, Real Handcooked Crisps, Tavern Snacks, Tayto
Address: Tandragee Castle, Tandragee, Co. Armagh, 
Northern Ireland BT62 2AB, United Kingdom
Phone: +44 028 38 840249
Website: www.taytogroup.com, www.goldenwonder.com, 
www.realcrisps.com
Email: Contact Form
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Golden Wonder

In 1947, William Alexander, a Scottish bakery owner, started to produce potato crisps each day after the early morning baking shift had been completed. He called the delicious result Golden Wonder. Today, Golden Wonder is a key player in the crisps market, being one of the UK’s leading producers.
In 1960 Golden Wonder became the brand leader in Scotland. In 1962 Golden Wonder introduced the first ever flavoured crisps – cheese & onion. In 1964 Golden Wonder’s Corby factory became the largest crisp factory in the world. In 1965 Golden Wonder launched unique packaging to keep crisps fresher for longer – using the “Crackle Fresh” slogan. 1966 saw Golden Wonder become the brand leader and the fifth-largest grocery brand in the UK.
During the 1970s, Golden Wonder launched their Pot Noodle snacks and their Golden Wonder Golden Lights range.
In 1996 Golden Wonder relaunched with the slogan “Bursting with flavour”. Included was the innovative Turkey and Stuffing flavour crisps. In 1998 Golden Wonder relaunched once again with the slogan “Best flavour, best taste”.
Another relaunch, in 2003, saw Golden Wonder include Crisps cooked in sunflower oil, significantly reducing the level of saturated fat.
In 2006 Golden Wonder was acquired by Tayto (NI) Ltd., before relaunching once again with new packaging a year later. 

Golden Wonder are now in the Tayto stable of snacks. You can read about Tayto and reviews by clicking on the logo below.
Golden Wonder XL Cheese Crisps
They started life as Rishy Crisps, which were then bought out by Burton’s Crisps, which was in turn, absorbed into the Golden Wonder empire. XL Cheese is a cult classic in the north of England, and they are back by popular demand. It took a while to find out Golden Wonder now makes them because it was only tiny writing on the reverse of the packet that gave them away. Unfortunately, I could quickly see why. There was no smell when the bag was opened and there was only the very tiniest amount of cheese on the crisps. If anything, they tasted of stale salty crisps.   
(6)
Golden Wonder Ringos Sweet Chilli
These reconstituted potato based snacks proposed a three part taste. The first experience was a touch of curry. Next came along a slightly more familiar, if rather muted, Sweet Chilli. Finally, there was the very slightest heat kick. My first inclination is to describe these as a little disappointing, but I reminded myself that Golden Wonder aim these at children, for which there was sufficient taste, variety and heat.
(8)
Golden Wonder Cheese & Onion Crisps 
A Nose Plunge Test revealed the sparsest cheese smell. As with most crisps, it took a few in one go to get the best out of the flavour. There is something else very important to add here - Golden Wonder were one of the early forerunners of the cheese and onion flavoured potato crisp, way back in 1962. It is also the most popular flavour crisp in the UK. I can't say whether the recipe has changed significantly over the years, but the taste is still all there. There is cheese, there is onion, and every other crisp of this flavour still has to match up with Golden Wonder before judging them.   
(13)
Golden Wonder Salt & Vinegar Crisps 
If you were to pour a few droplets of malt vinegar onto a piece of kitchen roll, let it dry and then sniff it - That would be similar to the Nose Plunge Test result with this flavour. A good salt and vinegar crisp will either bounce the flavour from salt to vinegar and back again or balance a mixture in equal proportions so you can taste both partners in the combo. These very nearly fit neatly into the second category. As an early flavour pioneer, Golden Wonder mostly succeeded with this flavour, but there was a tangible vinegar dominance.   
(11)
Golden Wonder Sausage & Tomato Crisps
For some reason, these crisps conjured times long since passed. Perhaps it was a now beleaguered once-famous brand, or maybe a flavour that seems a bit dated, but I was strangely driven to enjoy them. Not the best approach to a Taste Test, I admit. Both tastes were present and in fairly even proportion, but while the tomato was easily recognised, the sausage took some identifying. This provided a false impression of imbalance.   
(11)
Golden Wonder Pickled Onion Crisps
It’s a little difficult to assess these crisps because they featured an honest and readily identifiable contradiction. They tasted of the pickle vinegar juice, but not the pickled onions themselves. I cannot say if that is a good or bad thing because the vinegar is such an essential part of the taste, and always tastes different, depending on which brand you prefer.   .   
(8)
Golden Wonder Ready Salted Crisps
These crisps were fairly flat in appearance. There wasn’t much in the way of oil blistering or visible seasoning. They did however provide a gentle journey through the history of plain crisps. They lacked a little salt, but they were just salty enough to carry off their role in a partnership with a flavourful sandwich. Unlike many peers and rivals they lacked greasiness. Perfectly suited to their position in the crisps aisle.
(13)
​Golden Wonder Cheese & Onion Ringos
For British children of the 1970s, these were a go to snack. The extruded glory of ‘actual’ onions rings made from reconstituted potato were real winners across the land. Through adult eyes they looked great. Proper onions rings and made of an even more glorious vegetable. Sadly, through adult tastebuds they were tasteless. I desperately tried to locate the Onion, and then the Cheese. There may have been the lightest touch of Onion, but they were so lacking in flavour, I wondered whether I had a duff packet, so I tried another. I was very disappointed to discover I was right the first time.
(8)

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