Utz Brands facts for kids
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| Public | |
| Traded as | NYSE: UTZ |
| Founded | 1921 |
| Founders | William and Salie Utz |
| Headquarters | Hanover, Pennsylvania |
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Key people
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Dylan Lissette (chairman) Howard Friedman (CEO) |
| Products | Snack foods |
| Revenue |  US$1.181 billion (2021) |
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Operating income
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US$2.5 million (2021) |
| US$16.2 million (2020) |
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| Total assets | US$10.56 million (2020) |
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Number of employees
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2,000 (2021) |
Utz Brands, Inc., often just called Utz, is a well-known American company that makes yummy snacks. It's based in Hanover, Pennsylvania. Utz makes lots of different snacks like potato chips, pretzels, and many others. You can find most of their products sold under their own brand names. Utz also provides snacks to big stores and other sellers.
Contents
History of Utz Snacks
How Utz Started
Utz Brands began way back in 1921. It was first called Hanover Home Brand Potato Chips. William and Salie Utz started making potato chips from their home. They lived in Hanover, Pennsylvania. They began with just $300, which would be about $4,900 today.
The equipment they used was operated by hand. It could make about 50 pounds of potato chips every hour. Salie cooked the chips, and Bill delivered them. He took them to local grocery stores and farmers’ markets. These were in the Hanover and Baltimore, Maryland areas.
Later, the couple moved their chip-making to a concrete building. This building was in their backyard. In 1938, they bought a new machine. It was an automatic fryer that could make 300 pounds of chips an hour. This helped them make many more snacks!
Growing After the War
In 1938, Francis Xavier Rice joined the company. He married Arlene Utz, the daughter of the founders. After World War II, the company did very well. In 1949, they built a new production factory. It was on 10 acres (about 40,000 square meters) in Hanover.
Salie and Bill Utz passed away in the mid-1960s. After that, Francis Rice became the company president. During the 1970s, the company bought two more factories in Hanover. Rice retired in 1978. His son, Michael, then became president. Arlene Utz Rice stayed as the company's chairman. Utz's biggest factory and main office were finished in 1983.
Utz in Modern Times
In the late 1980s, Utz pretzel sales grew very fast. By 1991, pretzel sales made up almost 10% of all money earned. By the mid-1990s, Utz was selling over $100 million worth of products each year. At that time, the company had about 1,000 employees.
In 2011, Utz Brands bought Zappe Endeavors. This company made popular chips like Zapp's and Dirty's. This purchase included factories in Louisiana, California, and Pennsylvania. This helped Utz become a national snack company.
Utz continued to grow by buying other snack companies. In 2011, they bought Wachusett Potato Chip Company. In 2012, they acquired The Bachman Company. Utz Brands was still run by the family. Michael Rice was chairman, and his son-in-law, Dylan Lissette, was the CEO.
In 2016, Utz bought Golden Flake, another snack company. In 2017, they acquired Inventure Foods. This company made brands like Boulder Canyon Foods. In October 2019, Utz bought Snyder of Berlin. In August 2020, Utz became a company whose shares could be bought and sold by the public.
Utz kept buying more companies. In November 2020, they bought Truco Enterprises, which makes On the Border tortilla chips. In January 2021, they acquired Vitner's. In May 2021, Fastida Foods joined Utz. In December 2021, Utz bought R.W. Garcia.
In January 2022, Utz acquired Clem Snacks and J&D Snacks. In February 2022, Utz bought a factory from Evans Foods Group. In April 2023, Utz Brands announced that the Golden Flakes factory in Birmingham, Alabama, would close around July 3, 2023.
Sports Sponsorships
Utz has sponsored many sports teams over the years. Until 2012, Utz was a sponsor of the New York Yankees baseball team. They also sponsored the Philadelphia Phillies.
Today, Utz sponsors the Baltimore Orioles and the Pittsburgh Pirates baseball teams. Utz has also sponsored the Philadelphia Eagles football team for many seasons. Since 2014, Utz has been the official snack provider for the Baltimore Ravens football team. Utz also sponsors minor league baseball teams like the Connecticut Tigers and the Erie SeaWolves.
In 2018, Utz signed a deal with Major League Baseball. This made Utz the league's "official salty snack." The next year, Utz was the main sponsor for the 2019 National League Division Series in baseball.
Utz Snack Products
Utz makes a huge variety of snacks. They produce millions of pounds of potato chips and pretzels every week! Utz also makes cheese curls, sunflower chips, tortilla chips, popcorn, pork rinds, and party mix.
Some special items include chocolate-covered pretzels. They also have seasonal pretzel barrels and sports mixes. Utz even sells dips, salsas, and crackers. In total, Utz makes 395 different types and flavors of snacks!
Utz regular potato chips are cooked in cottonseed oil. Their Kettle Classic chips are cooked in peanut oil. The Grandma Utz varieties are cooked in lard. Utz also has an organic product line. These products are certified organic. They also have a "natural" product line, which includes potato chips cooked in sunflower oil. Utz uses a "Snacking Smart" icon on some products. This helps customers choose healthier snack options.
Ordering Utz Online
In the mid-1980s, Utz started a catalog mail order service. This allowed people to order Utz products by phone. The snacks would then be delivered to their homes. In 1998, Utz made it even easier. They added online ordering through their website, utzsnacks.com.
The Little Utz Girl Mascot
The official mascot for Utz Brands is called the Little Utz Girl. She is also known simply as the Utz Girl. She has been on Utz snack packages and in the company logo since the 1920s. In the early years, she looked like a real young girl. She had dark hair with a bow, a bob haircut, and blushing cheeks. She was often shown reaching into a bag of potato chips.
In 1961, the Little Utz Girl's look was updated. Her head became a circle. This new design was inspired by another famous logo. Later versions of the Utz logo showed the letter "U" in "Utz" as the potato chip bag. The Utz Girl looked like she was reaching into it. Designers also changed the logo's colors. The colors would match the flavor of the chips or the type of snack. The Utz Girl's hair would be one color, and her bow, blush, and shirt would be another.
See also
- List of food companies
