The Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers (Usdaw) has opened a strike ballot for its members at the Ashby-de-la-Zouch, Leicestershire, site of KP Snacks in a dispute over pay.

The formal ballot will close on 25 November and follows a recent consultative industrial action ballot.

Usdaw area organiser Ed Leach said: “The 2024/25 pay negotiations have so far failed to reach a satisfactory outcome. The company’s offer of 6.5% fails to adequately address the narrowing of the gap between the value of the National Living Wage and the consolidated rates of pay at the site.”

Subscribe to Grocery Gazette for free

Sign up here to get the latest grocery and food news each morning

According to Usdaw, KP Snacks’ 6.5% offer was rejected by 87.5% in its most recent ballot, which Leach said “clearly demonstrates that the offer is unacceptable to our members”.

“We regret that the company has flatly refused to increase the offer and we urge them to change their stance to avoid disruption to the business in the busy pre-Christmas period.”

A KP Snacks spokesperson told Grocery Gazette: “We are disappointed that we find ourselves in this position. The 6.5% pay rise we are offering is very competitive and almost four times the current rate of inflation, which stands at 1.7%. This offer combined with last year’s amounts to a 15% increase across the two years.”

The news comes as the Hula Hoops owner’s profits soared to almost £100m during 2023, despite the crisps manufacturer suffering a cyber-attack.

In the 2023 financial year, KP Snacks, which has a portfolio that includes Mccoy’s, Terrell’s, KP Nuts and Popchips, reported a pre-tax profit of £93.7m, an increase from £64.3m in 2022.