Kettle Foods

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www.kettlefoods.com/

Kettle Foods is an international manufacturer of potato chips and other snack foods based in Salem, Oregon, United States, with a European and Middle East headquarters in Norwich, United Kingdom. As of 2006 they were the largest natural potato chip brand in the U.S. The company, founded in 1978 by Cameron Healy, has since 2006 been owned by the British private equity firm Lion Capital LLP.

Contents meatball soup

1 History tom yum soup

2 Outside of the US and UK beef barley soup

3 Products

3.1 Potato chip flavor examples

4 Labor relations controversy

5 References

6 External links

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History

The company was founded by Cameron Healy in 1978 as the N.S. Khalsa Company; it produced its first potato chips in 1982. In 1988, following a motorcycle trip taken by the company's founder and his son, Kettle Foods established a UK branch in a convert shoe factory in Norwich; the branch moved five years later to a newly-built factory on the outskirts of Norwich, its current UK home.

In 2003, the company installed the largest solar array in the Pacific Northwest to use more green energy at their Salem plant. In September 2007, the company opened its second US production facility in Beloit, Wisconsin, lured there by $500,000 in state economic development money. Kettle built the first manufacturing plant to be awarded gold certification in the LEED program from the United States Green Building Council.

The company was sold to a private equity group, Lion Capital LLP, for between $280 million to $320 million. Lion put Kettle Foods up for sale in December 2009, with an asking price of around USD $700 million. The company was sold in February 2010 for $615 million to Diamond Foods, who owns brands such as Pop Secret.

Outside of the US and UK

The Kettle Foods UK office also supports a network of independent distributors through which Kettle Foods' products are made available in the Middle East and in European countries outside of the UK, including.Austria, Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Iceland, Italy, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Switzerland, and Sweden.

Products

Kettle features all-natural products, with its best-known brand being their batch-cooked potato chips. Their potato chips are fried using expeller-pressed high monounsaturated safflower and/or sunflower oil. The company has occasionally held contests to introduce new flavors. The 2006 contest winners were Tuscan Three Cheese and Buffalo Bleu; past contest winners include Cheddar Beer and Spicy Thai.

Potato chip flavor examples

The following is a list of potato chip flavors sold by the company as of 2009. The list is illustrative of the types of flavors sold by the company and is not meant to be exhaustive or up-to-date.

United States

Backyard Barbeque

Buffalo Bleu

Cheddar Beer

Classic Barbeque (Krinkle Cut)

Death Valley Chipotle

Dill and Sour Cream (Krinkle Cut)

Honey Dijon

Island Jerk (Krinkle Cut)

Jalapeo

Lightly Salted

Lightly Salted (Krinkle Cut)

New York Cheddar with Herbs

Salt and Fresh Ground Pepper (Krinkle Cut)

Sea Salt and Vinegar

Sour cream, onion, and chive

Spicy Thai

Sweet Onion

Tuscan Three Cheese

Unsalted

Yogurt and Green Onion

United Kingdom

Honey Barbecue

Lightly Salted

Mature Cheddar and Red Onion

No Added Salt

Red Thai Curry

Sea Salt with Crushed Black Peppercorns

Sea Salt and Balsamic Vinegar

Sour Cream and Chive

Sweet Chilli

Rest of Europe and the Middle East

Honey Barbecue

Mature Cheddar and Red Onion

Red Paprika

Sea Salt

Sea Salt and Balsamic Vinegar

Sea Salt and Crushed Black Pepper

Sea Salt, Rosemary & Garlic

Sour Cream and Chive

Labor relations controversy

In October 2007, campaigns were launched on Facebook calling for a boycott of Kettle Foods products following allegations that the company was attempting to dissuade workers at its Norwich factory from joining trade union Unite. The company denies the claim but acknowledged that it has taken advice from Omega Training, a UK subsidiary of U.S. company The Burke Group, specialists in union avoidance.

References

^ Kish, Matthew. Kettle Foods sold to British group Portland Business Journal, August 9, 2006.

^ "KettleFoods.com :: Our History". http://www.kettlefoods.com/about-us/history/. Retrieved 12 December 2009. 

^ Our story so far, from the company's UK website

^ Kettle Foods from the Energy Trust website

^ Kettle foods from the state of Oregon website

^ a b "Kettle Foods Opens Green Plant In Beloit". WISC-TV. September 20, 2007. http://www.channel3000.com/news/14153930/detail.html. Retrieved 2009-12-12. 

^ a b "Kettle Foods for sale". Portland Business Journal. December 10, 2009. http://portland.bizjournals.com/portland/stories/2009/12/07/daily38.html?ana=tt3245. Retrieved 12 December 2009. 

^ Bloomberg News (February 26, 2010). "Kettle Foods of Salem sold for $615M". OregonLive.com. http://www.oregonlive.com/business/index.ssf/2010/02/kettle_foods_of_salem_sold_for.html. Retrieved 27 February 2010. 

^ Just for retailers from the company's European website

^ And the winner is... from the company's website

^ Potato Chips from the company's USA website

^ Ten irresistible seasonings from the company's UK website

^ Eight great tasting seasonings from the company's European website

^ Consumers start online campaign to boycott Kettle Chips, an October 9, 2007 article from The Guardian

^ Internet campaign to boycott foods, an 11 October 2007 article from Norwich Evening News

^ The Burke Group

External links

Official website

Kettle Foods Ltd, official European website

Kettle Foods Ltd, official UK website

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Categories: Brand name snack foods | Brand name potato-based snack foods | Food production companies of the United States | Companies based in Salem, Oregon | Beloit, Wisconsin | Norwich | Companies established in 1978 | Private equity portfolio companies