Simba Chips (commonly referred to simply as Simba) is a popular South African brand of potato crisps. It was first introduced in 1957 by the Greyvensteyn family. "Simba" is the Swahili word for "lion" and the product's mascot is an adult male African Lion.

History

Having successfully marketed

Ouma Rusks Ouma (commonly referred to as Ouma Rusks) is a South African rusk made from a traditional buttermilk recipe. It was first produced in the rural town of Molteno, in the Eastern Cape, by Elizabeth Ann Greyvensteyn in 1939, in response to an initiat ...

in the 1940s and 1950s, the Greyvensteyn family were looking for ways to diversify their family business. In 1955, Leon Greyvensteyn travelled to a food fair in Germany in search of ideas. It was there that he met a man called

Herman Lay Herman Warden Lay (March 6, 1909 – December 6, 1982) was an American businessman who was involved in potato chip manufacturing with his eponymous brand of Lay's potato chips. He started H.W. Lay Co., Inc., now part of the Frito-Lay corporati ...

– the co-founder of

Frito-Lay Frito-Lay is an American subsidiary of PepsiCo that manufactures, markets, and sells corn chips, potato chips, and other snack foods. The primary snack food brands produced under the Frito-Lay name include Fritos corn chips, Cheetos cheese-fla ...

, the largest chip company in the world. The two men struck up a friendship, and Leon travelled on to the United States where he saw a potato chip factory in action.

References

Food and drink companies of South Africa Brand name potato chips and crisps {{SouthAfrica-company-stub