Wise Foods facts for kids
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Entrance to the corporate headquarters, 2009
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Formerly
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Wise Potato Chip Company |
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| Private | |
| Industry | Food |
| Founded | 1921 |
| Founder | Earl Wise |
| Headquarters |
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U.S.
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| Products | Potato chips, tortilla chips, ridgies, nachos, popcorn |
| Brands |
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| Parent | Arca Continental |
Wise Foods, Inc. is a company that makes popular snack foods. It is based in Berwick, Pennsylvania, in the United States. Wise sells its snacks in many states along the East Coast. You can also find their products in states like Vermont, Ohio, West Virginia, Kentucky, and Tennessee.
The company is most famous for its different kinds of potato chips. But Wise also makes other tasty snacks. These include Cheez Doodles, bagged popcorn, tortilla chips, and onion rings. They also make Dipsy Doodle chips, nachos, and Quinlan brand pretzels.
In 2012, a big company from Mexico called Arca Continental bought Wise Foods.
Contents
The Story of Wise Foods
How it all started
Wise Foods began in 1921 in Berwick, Pennsylvania. A man named Earl Wise started it. At first, it was called the Wise Potato Chip Company.
Earl Wise owned a deli, which is a type of food shop. He started making potato chips to use up extra potatoes. He cooked them in his mother's kitchen. Then, he sold them to customers in simple brown paper bags.
Back then, potato chips were often kept in big glass cases. Shopkeepers would scoop them into bags for customers. These bags often got greasy and didn't keep the chips fresh for long. This led to the invention of waxed paper bags later on.
Growing bigger
Earl Wise's chips became very popular right away. Soon, he was a well-known potato chip maker in the area. He chose an owl as his company's mascot. Owls are known for being "wise," which fit his name. The owl's eye is still part of the company's logo today.
By 1922, Earl Wise had his first delivery truck. In 1925, he opened his first factory to make even more chips.
Changes over the years
In 1964, the Wise family no longer owned the company. It was bought by the Borden Condensed Milk Co.. In 1968, the company changed its name to Wise Foods, Inc. By then, it sold many snacks, like popcorn and Cheez Doodles.
In 1989, Wise bought another snack company called Moore's Quality Snack Foods. Moore's sold salty snacks mainly in Virginia and the Carolinas.
Modern times
In October 2000, an investment company bought Wise Foods. They paid $96 million for it.
Wise made some changes in the 2000s to stay competitive. For example, in 2002, they closed a pretzel factory. They then hired another company to make pretzels under the Quinlan name.
In 2004, Wise started to update its packaging. They wanted to compete better with other snack companies. A lot of effort went into the New York City area. This was Wise's biggest market.
In 2005, Wise became the official potato chip sponsor of the New York Mets baseball team. By 2015, they were the official potato chip and Cheez Doodle sponsor!
In 2012, the Mexican company Arca Continental bought Wise Foods. Arca Continental is a very large bottler of Coca-Cola drinks. They own several snack companies in Mexico. Arca wanted to use Wise's strong name and market presence. This helped them introduce their Mexican snacks to new places.
In 2013, Wise Foods moved its main office. It moved from Parsippany, New Jersey, to Atlanta, Georgia. In 2015, Jolie Weber became the company's CEO.
