Popular Chip Company Makes Its Home In Chester County
NOTTINGHAM, Pa (CBS) -- Did you know that when you're diving into a bag of chips at your next party or picnic, that bag may have come from nearby Nottingham. That is where a massive factory captures all of your senses and brings out a visitor's childlike sense of wonder.
There is a whole lot that goes into the crunch and beloved products from Herr's Foods.
The company was established in 1946 when Jim Herr bought a small potato chip company, which quickly grew.
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"For years and years, we had regular potatoes and that was it," said Herr's Vice President of Marketing Bob Clark.
It was not until 1958 when Herr's began seasoning some if their chips. BBQ was the first and only flavor aside from plain for several years.
They now offer about 40 different chip flavors, alongside various cheese curls, popcorn, tortilla chips and pretzels.
"We have a whole team of sensory experts and it's all about taste testing," said Peter Graziano from the company's Research and Development team. "We have also partnered up with the people at Grill Mates for a lot of great seasoning blends that are great for grilling."
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Another smash hit for this season is their fire roasted popcorn that tastes like seasoned corn on the cob.
"It's a lot of fun, we talk to a lot of customers of all different ages because we know that the younger customers are open to a lot of flavor," Clark said. "We make about 10,000 pounds of potato chips every hour."
From when the fresh potatoes arrive to the factory, it takes only a few minutes before they are once again out the door and loaded into one of their iconic trucks.
"That blue truck that's driving down the road and it's delivering to every supermarket, to every convenience store, every drug store," Clark went on to say.
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It is the nature of a family business to care about quality and hundreds of visitors a day get to see the factory up close.
In the early days of the company, Herr was so proud of his business he wanted people to see it in action.
In Chester County and across the Mid-Atlantic, people have taken the company's slogan "make Herr's yours" to a whole new meaning.
