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The Top 6 Potato Chip Brands According to Your Votes

By Carolyn Kruse

Happy National Potato Chip Day! Bet you can’t eat just one! Nobody can. And certainly, everyone has their favorite brand of potato chips. Yesterday, I posed the question on social media: “What is your favorite potato chip brand?” As you can imagine, the answers were varied and passionate.

Here, we take a look at your answers, some official data that has been compiled (thank you Wikipedia) and other fun facts about the salty and irresistible crunch snack. The top 6 potato chip brands, according to your votes, are revealed below.

  • 6. Utz

    The Utz brand has been around a long time. In fact, it all started in the kitchen of  Salie and William Utz in 1921. The chips were originally called, “Hanover HOme Brand Potato Chips, in honor of their hometown of Hanover Pensylvania. Today, it’s one of the best selling brands in the U.S.

  • 5. Pringles

    “Once you pop, you can’t stop!” The Pringles company has made it’s mark by creating  a “skinnier” chip in a can, where they are neatly stacked. The chips invented in 1968 by Procter and Gamble. They were orginially marketed as  “Pringle’s New Fangled Potato Chips.” The unique packaging was in response to customers complaints about chips breaking. 

  • 4. Wachusett Potato Chips

    It’s great to see a local brand make your list of favorites! These tasty crisps are made in Fitchburg, MA. They started as a family owned company in 1937 by Polish-American brothers Theofil and Steven Krysiak. In 2011 they were bought by the Utz company, but they are still made in the Fitchburg facility. 

    Pizza and Wachusett chips

    Posted by Wachusett Potato Chip on Saturday, June 16, 2018

  • 3. Ruffles

    New Englanders love their ruffles, ridges and all. One listener commented that it’s better for dipping, probably because it’s a little thicker and sturdier. The crinkle cut potato chips was created by Bernhardt Stahmer who trademarked the chips in 1948. The Frito Company acquired the rights to Ruffles in 1958 and in 1961 merged with H.W. Lay & Co. Since then, we’ve been touting the joys of “RRRuffles have ridges!”

  • 2. Lays

    According to you, Lays is definitley a fave! Garnering the second to most votes, Lays fans like it’s lightness and classic flavor. Nothing too fancy here, just salt and potatoes is the flavor goal. It all began in 1932 when Herman Lay opened a snack food stored in Nashville. A few years later he bought the potato chip manufacturing company, Barrett Food Company, in Atlanta, GA. In 1961 they merged with Frito Lay and today it’s the best selling potato chip in the world. It’s Lays who came up with the clever slogan, “Betcha can’t eat just one!”

  • 1. Cape Cod Potato Chips

    And your #1 choice for potato chip eating is… another local brand! A chip that brings us all the warm fuzzy feelings of summer, simply by the picture on the bag, and in it’s name. Congratulations to Cape Cod Potato Chips, the winner of the most votes in our informal survey. You like it for the kettle cooked delicousness, and because “it tastes like home.”

    Have a chip that will take you to the Cape.

    Posted by Cape Cod Potato Chips on Friday, March 22, 2019

  • How It Started

    According to National Day Calendar, it all started in 1853 when a restaurant customer expressed his disatisfaction at the potatoes he was served. He complained they were thick and soggy and sent them back, more than once. As the story goes, the chef, George Crum (you can’t make this stuff up) then tried slicing the potatoes thinly, frying them until they were crisp, and added extra salt. (When in doubt, salt!). The crispy potatoes went on to become a regular menu item, and a favorite in the restaurant, and beyond.

    Potato Chips

  • How It's Going

    Today, those “crispy chips” are the #1 selling snack food in America. Heck, they even have their own holiday!  Happy National Potato Chip Day! Celebrate by grabbing a bag of your favorite. I like to put them in the middle of a tuna sandwich. The best! 

    GettyImages-1409717247.jpeg

    Getty Images

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