1977 KP Sky Divers commercial.

KP Snacks is a British producer of branded and own-label maize and potato based snacks, “Choc Dips” and nuts. The KP originally stood for Kenyon Produce. The company is based in Rotherham, South Yorkshire, England.

The company was founded in 1853 as Kenyon & Son as a producer of confectionery, jam and pickles. By 1891 the company had become Kenyon & Son and Craven Limited. The company switched to producing roasted and salted hazelnuts in 1948, expanding to peanuts later. These were originally produced for sale in cinemas. In 1952 the company introduced Hercules Nuts and in 1953 the No.1 KP Nuts peanut brand.

The company became part of United Biscuits (UB) in 1968. The KP Snacks subsidiary produces a range of packet snack brands including Hula Hoops, Meanies, Skips, McCoys, Frisps, Mini Cheddars, Brannigan’s, Royster’s, Nik Naks, Space Raiders and Phileas Fogg. The snacks part is based on Teesside and in Ashby-de-la-Zouch in Leicestershire, near the UB distribution warehouse.

The Ashby-de-la-Zouch site won a “Best Factory Award” in 2004.