Pr*wn Cracker launch: UK snack brand Native Snacks is launching the World's First Vegan Prawn Crackers in two much loved flavours: Original Prawn Flavour and Sweet Chilli. The snacks come in at under 99 calories per serving, light and crunchy, delicately flavoured with all natural, plant-based ingredients and tasting exactly the same as a traditional prawn cracker. Native Snacks want to 'bring the cracker back' for Vegans and Veggies who may have had to bin their crackers in the past.  

Asda and Planet Organic are leading the way in introducing this like-for-like vegan alternative to the much loved classic snack. The crustacean-free, egg-free, milk-free and gluten-free snack has also been created not just for vegans but for the environmentally conscious consumer wanting to cut down on their fish intake, those cracker fans with a sustainable outlook, or those who might just want a new and exciting type of snack, on-the-go, at your desk or with a meal.

Pr*wn Crackers are a like-for-like, plant-based alternative available in two tasty classic flavours: Original Prawn, the perfect accompaniment to any meal with all of the taste and texture of an original prawn cracker; and Sweet Chilli, a sweet and spicy pick-me-up at any time of the day and delicious when dunked into a dip or sauce. 

Native Snacks Founders Charlie and Darcy said,

“We were shocked to hear that the farming of prawns produces more Co2 than beef per kg and contributes to the destruction of precious mangrove habitat. We wanted to create an easy like-for-like swap for such an iconic snack for vegans and non-vegans alike to enjoy. We loved eating prawn crackers as kids and no Friday Night Takeaway felt right without a bag. We always had some friends who couldn't eat them due to being veggie or vegan. As well as creating something that tasted delicious, it also had to work from an ethical standpoint too. We knew from looking at the many vegan insta accounts that we follow - many who have posted about wanting to find a 'prawn' cracker - that the demand was there.”

Native Snacks Pr*wn Crackers will be in the Vegan Bay across 222 Asda Stores from 4th October 2021 with an RRP of £1.60 for a 60g sharing bag. The range will also be available from Planet Organic, The Vegan Kind and www.wearenativesnacks.com 

Native Snacks will also be donating 1p from every pack sold to charity partner Project Seagrass to support the conservation and planting of seagrass. Seagrass meadows are critical to the survival of every living thing on Earth, and provide habitats for 1000s of species. Seagrass produces oxygen, cleans water, absorbs greenhouse gas emissions and helps keep the ocean healthy which stabilises the climate - both global and local.

For all media enquiries, image or sample requests please contact Jo Baird: Joanne@joannebaird.com // 0044 7814 267 444

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Notes to Editors

About Native Snacks

www.wearenativesnacks.com

@wearenativesnacks 

Street Food. Sounds of sizzling and popping, the sights and smells of the world's culinary delights at your fingertips. This is what Native Snacks capture in every one of our packs of super street snacks. And whether you nibble or crunch, at dinner or lunch, our flavours will be right up your street. We create nostalgic plant-based snacks that don't compromise on taste, give the same or better experience and allow you to serve your moral goals and dietary needs without breaking the bank.

Founded in 2019 by Charlie Bowker and Darcy Ogston, Native Snacks is creating modern day versions of nostalgic street food snacks from around the world, pairing them with iconic flavours that people know and love.

The debut range of Popped Lotus Seeds snacks comes in three editions: Sea Salt and Pepper, Sea Salt and Vinegar and Sweet Chilli. Native Snacks is distributed directly to consumer via its own website, as well as through retail listings with Sainsbury's, Ocado, Amazon Fresh and TheVeganKind. As a result of new retail and online partnerships going live in 2021, the company will see distribution grow by over 1,500%.

About Prawn Farming and Prawn Crackers

*As a result of removing prawn from their vegan Pr*wn Crackers, for every 100,000 bags of Native Snacks' Pr*wn Crackers sold, the brand calculated it would save 2,226MT CO2e and 460,000 prawns.

Full study on prawn farming available here: https://www.cifor.org/knowledge/publication/6431/ 

For a long time, beef has been a target of environmentalists because of cattle farming's contribution to global warming. But what about humble shrimp and prawns? They may seem, well, shrimpy when compared with cows, but it turns out the tasty crustaceans are just as big an environmental problem.

The issue is not so much their life cycle: shrimp, (as UN statisticians refer to all commonly eaten species collectively) do not belch planet-cooking methane the way cows do. But shrimp farms tend to occupy coastal land that used to be covered in mangroves. Draining mangrove swamps to make way for aquaculture is even more harmful to the atmosphere than felling rainforest to provide pasture for cattle.

A study conducted in 2017 by research institute Cifor found that in both these instances, by far the biggest contribution to the carbon footprint of the resulting beef or shrimp came from the clearing of the land.

**Mangroves and Prawn Farming:

https://www.worldwildlife.org/industries/farmed-shrimp 

The Prawn Cracker is best known as a starter or accompaniment with a Chinese Meal and has been recorded as being served as far back as the 16th century in Malaysia and Indonesia. Made from a combination of prawns - up to 35% real prawn - tapioca flour and water, the prawn cracker can often be found being made on the streets of South-East Asia. The mixture is rolled, steamed and sliced, and then sun-dried for maximum crispiness, then-fried in extra-hot oil. The tiny wafers then pop into fluffy crackers.