News on Chips and Snacks from Northern America

June 04, 2010

Lance, Inc. Announces Cost Cuts, Workforce reductions

Lance Inc. (Nasdaq: LNCE) today announced it is undertaking a series of cost reductions, including a reorganization which will result in a reduction in its workforce of about 2 percent. These actions are being taken to restore profit margins and align ...

June 01, 2010

Ron Zappe, founder of Zapp's Potato Chips, dies at 67

Ron Zappe, who founded Zapp's Potato Chips in Gramercy and turned the little chip factory into a national phenomenon, died Tuesday in Houston, where he was undergoing treatment for throat cancer. He was 67. Rod Olson, general manager of the company, ...

May 30, 2010

Covered Bridge Potato Chip Company receives tourism award

The Covered Bridge Potato Chip Co. Inc. won the NB Tourism Product Development Award. This was one of the four 2010 Tourism Excellence and Innovation Awards awards presented on Thursday, May 27, by the Tourism Industry Association of New Brunswick (TI...

May 26, 2010

Wise Foods up for Sale?

Buyout firm Palladium Equity Partners is exploring a sale of Wise Foods, the maker of Cheez Doodles and Wise potato chips, according to two people with knowledge of the matter.Palladium has hired investment bank Piper Jaffray Cos. to find potential buy...

May 26, 2010

Promoting a Potato Chip Using Many Farmers, and Less Salt

In a campaign for Lay’s that features actual farmers who grow potatoes used to make the chips, the farmers are meant to appear just as they do in life: genuine, simple, plain-spoken, salt of the earth. Oops. Strike that, given the concern among food ac...

May 20, 2010

The Inventure Group changes name to Inventure Foods

The Inventure Group, Inc. (Nasdaq: SNAK), a leading specialty snack food marketer and manufacturer, is pleased to announce it has received shareholder approval to change the corporate name to Inventure Foods, Inc. The change better reflects the Compan...

May 19, 2010

Mintel: 'Snack' 'Snackable' and 'Snacker' in menu descriptions up 170% since 2007

Recent research from Mintel Menu Insights found that snacking is the new way to order at restaurants. Menu items that contain the descriptors “snack,” “snackable,” or “snacker” have increased by a staggering 170% since 2007 and growth is expected to c...

May 16, 2010

Organic snacks taste better - if you typically buy organic

Following results of a study by the Cornell University Food and Brand Lab shows how labeling may stimulate purchase and consumption: Fifty four college students were randomly assigned to try cookies that were labeled ‘organic’ or cookies that had no...

May 16, 2010

Mike Sell's celebrating 100 year of potato chips

Around the same time Wilbur and Orville Wright were introducing the world to manned flight and Charles Kettering was working on the self-starting automobile ignition, Daniel W. Mikesell was trying to make his way in the business world. Eventually, he ...

Ballreich's receives family owned business award

May 15, 2010

Ballreich’s Potato Chips gets family-owned business award

Ballreich's Potato Chips received this year's Jeffrey Butland Family-Owned Business of the Year award Friday from the U.S. Small Business Administration's Cleveland district office.The 90-year-old Tiffin company hosted Gilbert Goldberg, district direct...

May 09, 2010

Bob Shearer to receive honorary doctorate degree of Lake Erie College

Robert J. Shearer, President and CEO of Shearer's Foods Inc., will give the commencement address at Lake Erie College as 181 students graduate in the 151st class on Sunday, May 9 at 11:00 a.m. in the Auxiliary Gym of the Jerome T. Osborne Family Athlet...

May 06, 2010

Kettle Brand® Expands Restoration of Native Wetlands on Grounds of Salem Potato Chip Factory

Freeing stream beds from aggressive Himalayan blackberries and planting native vegetation, the Kettle Brand® is marking National Wetlands Month by restoring an additional wildlife habitat in its Oregon backyard. A long-time steward of federally design...

May 06, 2010

The Inventure Group to add Clextral extrusion line to Bluffton facility

The Inventure Group, Inc. (Nasdaq: SNAK), a leading specialty snack food company, will expand its Bluffton, Ind. manufacturing facility to add extruded snack production capabilities later this year. The $4 million expansion is expected to be complete b...

April 29, 2010

Kettle Brand® Potato Chips Lightly Salted now called Sea Salt

The classic Kettle Brand® Potato Chips Lightly Salted flavor is now Sea Salt. The subtle shift in name reflects the all natural ingredients always used in every recipe and captures the brand’s reputation for delivering delicious flavor in every crunch...

April 28, 2010

Conagra sustainable Development Awards: Park Rapids and Quincy Lamb Weston facilities recognized

ConAgra Foods announced today the winners of its 2010 Sustainable Development Awards, an internal awards program created to recognize outstanding achievements integrating sustainability into business practices while also sharing best practices across the company.

April 27, 2010

Snack Factory PretzelCrisps launched nationwide in Whole Foods Market

Snack Factory announced today that it will launch its new Modern Classics line of Pretzel Crisps at Whole Foods Market stores nationwide in May. Modern Classics were unveiled at the Natural Products Expo West trade show in Anaheim, CA on March 12th and...

April 26, 2010

Funky Monkey(R) Snacks Now Populating Shelves at 400 Kroger Stores

Funky Monkey Snacks, a leading brand in the healthy snacks category, has announced a new relationship with Kroger that will result in the availability of its snacks in 400 of its stores, including stores in Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Michiga...

Burger King branded snacks: sales slide 14%

April 22, 2010

The Inventure Group reports Q1 results;

The Inventure Group, Inc. (Nasdaq: SNAK), a leading specialty food manufacturer, today reported record financial results for the first quarter ending March 27, 2010, highlighted by a 9th consecutive quarter of year over year earnings growth, EPS increa...