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 yummy snacks like potato chips and Cheez Doodles. It started in Berwick, Pennsylvania, in the United States. You can find Wise snacks in many stores along the eastern part of the U.S.. They are also sold in states like Vermont, Ohio, West Virginia, Kentucky, and Tennessee.
Wise is most famous for its many kinds of potato chips. But they also make other popular snacks. These include Cheez Doodles, popcorn, tortilla chips, and pretzels. They even make Dipsy Doodle chips and French onion dips!
Wise used to make a snack called Cheez Waffies. However, this product is no longer made. In 2012, a big company from Mexico called Arca Continental bought Wise Foods.
Contents
The Story of Wise Snacks
How Wise Foods Began
Wise Foods was started in 1921 by a person named Earl Wise. He lived in Berwick, Pennsylvania. At first, his company 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 had.
He first cooked the chips 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 paper bags often got greasy and didn't keep the chips fresh for long. This led to the invention of waxed paper bags, which were much better!
Earl Wise's chips became very popular right away. Soon, he was known as a "potato chip mogul" in his area. He chose an owl as his company's mascot. Owls are known for being "wise," which fit his name perfectly. The owl's eye is still part of the company's logo today. By 1922, he 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 a large company called the Borden Condensed Milk Co.. A few years later, in 1968, the Wise Potato Chip Company changed its name. It became Wise Foods, Inc. By then, they sold more than just chips. They also sold popcorn, Cheez Doodles, and Bravos Tortilla Chips.
In 1989, Wise bought another snack company called Moore's Quality Snack Foods. Moore's mostly sold salty snacks in Virginia and the Carolinas.
Wise Foods in the 2000s
In October 2000, an investment company bought Wise Foods. They wanted to help Wise compete better with other snack companies. Wise made some changes to become stronger. For example, in 2002, they closed their Quinlan Pretzel Co. factory. Instead, they hired another company to make pretzels under the Quinlan name.
In 2004, Wise started using new packaging for all its products. They spent a lot of money on this, especially in New York City. New York City was Wise's biggest market. In 2005, Wise became the "Official Potato Chip" of the New York Mets baseball team. By 2015, they were the "Official Potato Chip and Cheez Doodle" of the Mets!
In 2012, a Mexican company called Arca Continental bought Wise Foods. Arca Continental is one of the biggest Coca-Cola bottlers in the world. They own several snack companies in Mexico. Arca wanted to use Wise's good name and market presence to 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, who was the company's chief financial officer, became the new CEO.
