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A Century and a Half of Crunch: The Potato Chip Turns 150!
By Christopher Clark
SFA Vice President, Operations & Membership
Perhaps nothing is more “American” than the
potato chip. That’s why 2003 is such a special year
in the snack food industry – it’s the 150th Birthday
of the potato chip!
And what an event it will be!
The Snack Food Association (SFA) and the United States Potato
Board (USPB) are planning a series of celebrations and publicity
opportunities this year to highlight this occasion, which
are detailed later in this article. But first, some history
on how the potato chip was invented and how it’s become
such as an integral part of our diet and culture:
The birthplace was a posh resort—Moon's Lake House—in
Saratoga Springs, New York.
Fried potatoes were already a common menu item in the region,
having been first introduced in the United States by Thomas
Jefferson in the late 18th century. In 1853, a patron at
Moon's Lake House order fried potatoes with his meal. The
diner complained that the potatoes were too thick and sent
them back to the cook.
The cook at the restaurant was George Crum, who is described
as Native American in some accounts. There is agreement,
however, on Crum's disposition—he was generally ornery.
Upset that someone would criticize his cooking, Crum sliced
a new batch of potatoes paper-thin, fried them in boiling
oil to a crisp, and then salted them.
But what was intended as a stunt turned into an instant
hit – the fussy patron and his friends loved the "crunch
potato slices." Soon the chips became known as Saratoga
Chips. At first they were served in restaurants throughout
the region. When George Crum left Moon's Lake Inn to start
his own restaurant called "Crumbs House," he placed
large baskets of the chips on every table. It was not long
before Saratoga Chips could be found in restaurants up and
down the East Coast. Soon they became known as potato chips.
Potato chips first became available in grocery stores in
1895. That was the year that William Tappenden began delivering
potato chips to stores in his Cleveland, Ohio, neighborhood.
He used a horse-drawn wagon to deliver the potato chip that
he started making on his kitchen stove. As orders increased,
Tappenden converted his barn into one of the first potato
chip factories.
The next milestone in potato chip distribution came in 1926.
Up until this time, retailers dispensed potato chips in bulk
from cracker barrels or glass display cases. The chips were
then given to customers in paper sacks. Laura Scudder, working
in her Monterey Park, Calif.-based family chip business,
had a new idea. At night, women employees in the company
took home sheets of waxed paper and hand-ironed them into
bags. The next day, the workers hand-packed chips into the
bags and sealed the tops with a warm iron. The bags of chips
were then delivered to retailers where they could be purchased
by customers.
The early 1900s gave birth to a number of companies that
helped define the potato chip industry. In 1910, Daniel Mikesell
and his wife started Mike-sell's in Dayton, Ohio. Wise Potato
Chips was founded in 1921 when Earl Wise, Sr. decided to
make potato chips out of the excess potatoes at his Berwick,
Pa. delicatessen. That same year Bill and Salie Utz founded
Utz Quality Foods in Hanover, Pa. and Magic City Food Company
(which later became Golden Flake Snack Foods) opened in Birmingham,
Ala. In 1932, Herman Lay founded Lay's in Nashville, Tenn.,
which distributed potato chips from a factory in Atlanta,
Ga. In 1938, Lay purchased the chip factory and Lay's Brand
Potato Chips was born.
An industry was launched. Potato chips have become America's
favorite snack. U.S. retail sales alone of potato chip are
over $6 billion a year. And worldwide sales of potato chips
are [ will add later]. The U.S. potato chip industry alone
employs more than 65,000 people.
Celebrations Planned
SFA and USPB are planning a number of events and activities
to celebrate the potato chip's 150th birthday. The events
and activities scheduled in 2003 to commemorate the birth
of the potato are listed below.
- The 2003 annual Routing for Dollars Display
Contest will have a 150th Potato Chip category. The SFA
route salesperson
and retail partner who build the best in-store display commemorating
the potato chip's anniversary will share a $10,000 prize.
Second place will be $5,000; third place, $2,000; and 10
$500 honorable mentions will be awarded.
- A reception to
honor the Potato Chip at the annual Chipping Potato Seminar,
which will be held March 4-7 in Jacksonville,
Fla.
- A dinner and birthday celebration
for the potato chip will be held at SNAXPO 2003—SFA's
annual convention. This year SNAXPO will take place March
15-18 in San Francisco,
Calif., at the Marriott hotel.
- A reception in connection
with SFA's Day in D.C. that members of Congress, Administration
officials, and industry leaders
will be invited to attend.
- A media campaign that includes
information on the history of the potato chip, other events
that occurred that year,
and trivia about America's favorite snack.
- A press conference
in August in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., where the potato
chip was born.
If you have any questions on the 150th potato chip anniversary
activities chip or its history, please contact Christopher Clark
at 1-800-628-1334 or (703) 836-4500 ext. 218 or cclark@sfa.org
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