Their Chips Are Made From ‘Ugly’ Potatoes

Their Chips Are Made From ‘Ugly’ Potatoes Dieffenbach’s Potato Chips Inc. sources second-grade potatoes to make potato chips. “Uglies Kettle Chips are made by Dieffenbach’s Snacks, a family-owned company in Womelsdorf, Pa.,” says Director of Marketing Bob Zender. “Founder Mark Dieffenbach started making his own chips on his kitchen stove in Berk’s County, Pa., in 1964. He found demand for his homemade recipe at local farm markets and quickly outgrew his kitchen. “Dieffenbach built his own kettle cookers and expanded into the garage. As success continued, he built a small factory that grew across generations. Mark’s son, Elam, and now his grandson, Nevin, have remained faithful to the family recipe for over 60 years, and produce their small-batch kettle chips right in the same Berk’s County factory.” For decades, the Dieffenbach family assisted farmers with “imperfect-graded” crops by purchasing what they could and processing and selling these seconds as potato chips. “He sold the chips locally to help farmers minimize their losses,” Zender says. “But supply was always greater than demand. It was a shame to see such waste over minor cosmetic concerns.” The family decided to formalize their compassion through Uglies Kettle Chips. “This amplified their efforts to reduce food waste and help these farmers make ends meet,” Zender says. “The brand is also dedicated to giving back a portion of profits to charity.” Grade A chipping potatoes are free of blemishes and irregular shapes and are used for standard chips. Uglies uses seconds, which are perfectly fine except for their appearance. These upcycled potatoes have slight imperfections, including irregular shapes or sizes, varied colors, or sugar content that doesn’t meet manufacturers’ beauty standards. Zender emphasizes that they’re not diseased, rotting or unripe. “Regarding production, the primary difference comes down to the extra TLC required for sorting and sizing imperfect potatoes to make these beautifully delicious kettle chips,” Zender says. “But it’s a labor of love, and with the resulting chips, everyone wins.” Today, Dieffenbach’s Potato Chips Inc. operates nine chip lines across three facilities, totaling 252,000 sq. ft. of space, including a distribution center and additional production lines. Uglies Kettle Chips offers nine flavors of white and sweet potato chips: Sea Salt, Bar-B-Que, Salt & Vinegar, Jalapeno, Buffalo Ranch, Cheddar & Sour Cream, Original Sweet Potato, Hot Honey Sweet Potato, and Spicy BBQ Sweet Potato. “Uglies Kettle Chips are immensely popular and outsell the flagship Dieffenbach’s brand 5 to 1,” Zender says. “They benefit from its community-focused mission and growing national presence, not to mention its fun and trendy packaging and flavors.” Uglies Kettle Chips has rescued over 32 million pounds of potatoes from food waste. “We’re helping to fulfill the Uglies mission to ‘Support Farmers, Reduce Food Waste, and Give Back,’” Zender says. Uglies chips are available nationwide at hundreds of retailers. The brand is certified by the Upcycled Food Association. “Dieffenbach’s Snacks partners with EK Bare, a Pennsylvania-based potato broker who continually sources potatoes of all types and grades for the company. Interested growers can contact EK Bare at 717-397-0351.” Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Dieffenbach’s, 51 Host Rd., Womelsdorf, Pa. 19567 (ph 610-589-2385).

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