Herr's is an American brand of potato chips and other

snack food A snack is a small portion of food generally Eating, eaten between meals. Snacks come in a variety of forms including packaged snack foods and other processed foods, as well as items made from fresh ingredients at home. Traditionally, snack ...

s produced and marketed by eponymous private American company Herr Foods Inc. based in

Nottingham, Pennsylvania Nottingham is an unincorporated community and census-designated place located in West Nottingham Township in Chester County, Pennsylvania. The community is located at the intersection of U.S. 1 and Pennsylvania Route 272 near the border with Ea ...

. While their products are sold primarily throughout the Eastern United States and Canada, their stronghold is the Mid-Atlantic region. Herr's products are sold in all 50 American states and in over 40 countries.

History

In 1946,

Jim Herr James Staffer Herr (August 6, 1924 – April 5, 2012) was an American businessman who founded Herr's Snacks, which manufacturers potato chips and other snack foods. Herr's Snacks, which was founded in 1946, is headquartered in Nottingham, Pennsy ...

, then 21 years old, purchased a small potato chip company in

Lancaster, Pennsylvania Lancaster, ( ; pdc, Lengeschder) is a city in and the county seat of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. It is one of the oldest inland cities in the United States. With a population at the 2020 census of 58,039, it ranks 11th in population amon ...

. Initial sales averaged approximately thirty dollars a week ($ today, adjusted for inflation). In 1958, the company introduced flavored potato chips, and in 1974, switched to foil packaging from the traditional glassine bags. The 1970s and 1980s saw a growth in the snack food industry which prompted an expansion in the variety of products being manufactured, including corn chips, tortilla chips, and pretzels. The 1980s also saw the addition of the Herr Angus Farm, a cattle farm which made use of potato waste products. Jim Herr began transferring control of the company to his sons, Ed Herr and J. M. Herr, in the 1990s, with Ed taking over as company spokesman. Jim Herr retired as company chair in favor of J. M. Herr in January 2005, but remained on the board of directors until his death. Jim Herr died on April 5, 2012, at the age of 87. Ed Herr and J. M. Herr assumed the roles of president and executive chairman respectively.

Products

Herr's produces a wide variety of snack foods, including potato chips, pretzels, tortilla chips,

cheese curls Cheese puffs, cheese curls, cheese balls, cheese ball puffs, cheesy puffs, or corn curls are a puffed corn snack, coated with a mixture of cheese or cheese-flavored powders. They are manufactured by extruding heated corn dough through a die ...

popcorn Popcorn (also called popped corn, popcorns or pop-corn) is a variety of corn kernel which expands and puffs up when heated; the same names also refer to the foodstuff produced by the expansion. A popcorn kernel's strong hull contains the se ...

, and onion rings. They produce, as of July 2016, 37 different potato chip varieties, with an emphasis on strong and spicy flavors. Among their offerings are ragin ranch, buffalo blue cheese,

Old Bay Old Bay Seasoning is a blend of herbs and spices that is marketed in the United States by McCormick & Company and originally created in Baltimore, Maryland. The seasoning is a mix of celery salt (salt, celery seed), spices (including red pepp ...

, horseradish,

baby back ribs Pork ribs are a cut of pork popular in Western and Asian cuisines. The ribcage of a domestic pig, meat and bones together, is cut into usable pieces, prepared by smoking, grilling, or baking – usually with a sauce, often barbecue – and then ...

, Kansas City steak, hot sauce, jalapeño, in addition to more traditional varieties such as

barbecue Barbecue or barbeque (informally BBQ in the UK, US, and Canada, barbie in Australia and braai in South Africa) is a term used with significant regional and national variations to describe various cooking methods that use live fire and smoke t ...

, kettle cooked, sour cream & onion, cheddar & sour cream, salt & pepper, Ketchup, Habanero and Creamy Ranch, and

salt & vinegar A potato chip (North American English; often just chip) or crisp (British and Irish English) is a thin slice of potato that has been either deep fried, baked, or air fried until crunchy. They are commonly served as a snack, side dish, or appe ...

. In January 2016, Herr's released a picture on social media previewing a new Crab Fries flavored potato chips in partnership with

Chickie's & Pete's Chickie’s & Pete’s is an American bar and restaurant business privately owned and headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It started as a small privately owned neighborhood taproom in 1977, and created a brand name as a seafood crab house ...

, a sports bar also headquartered in the Philadelphia region. Herr's planned to release the chips to stores a couple of months after the announcement, however the chips were instead released one month later in February due to popular demand. Herr's has also released a BBQ chips line in partnership with Stubbs BBQ sauce. Herr's potato chips are sold in distinctive foil packaging.

In popular culture

A subplot of an episode of '' The Office'' features

Jim Halpert James "Jim" Duncan Halpert is a fictional character in the U.S. version of the television sitcom ''The Office'', portrayed by John Krasinski. He is introduced as a sales representative at the Scranton branch of paper distribution company Dunder ...

and Karen Filippelli spending the workday searching for a package of Herr's salt and vinegar chips. In a DVD exclusive for season 3, Kevin Malone makes a quesadilla out of Herr's chips and

Cheez Whiz Cheez Whiz is a brand of processed cheese sauce or spread produced by Kraft Foods. It was developed by a team led by food scientist Edwin Traisman (1915–2007). It was first sold in 1952, and with some changes in formulation continues to be in ...

Visitors' center

The Herr's Visitors' Center was constructed in 1989 and is adjacent to the plant in Nottingham, Pennsylvania. Tour guides lead visitors through both the visitors' center and the actual plant. The tours last approximately one hour.

References

{{reflist

External links

Official website
Brand name snack foods Brand name potato chips and crisps Snack food manufacturers of the United States American companies established in 1946 Companies based in Chester County, Pennsylvania 1946 establishments in Pennsylvania Food and drink companies established in 1946 Snack food manufacturers of Pennsylvania Tourist attractions in Chester County, Pennsylvania