Kettle Foods

Kettle Foods, Inc.is an American manufacturer ofpotato chips, based inSalem, Oregon, United States, with a European and Middle East headquarters inNorwich, United Kingdom. As of 2006 they were the largestnaturalpotato chipbrandin the U.S.
The company, founded in 1978 by Cameron Healy as "N.S. Khalsa Company", was previously sold toLion Capitalin 2006 and was owned byDiamond Foodsfrom 2010 to 2016. In February 2016,Snyder's-Lancefinalized their purchase of Diamond Foods.Snyder's-Lance (and their Kettle Foods division) was purchased byCamden, New Jersey–basedCampbell Soup Companyin March 2018.
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 converted shoe factory inNorwich,Norfolk, England; the branch moved five years later to its current UK home, a newly built factory on the outskirts of Norwich.
In 2003, the company installed the largest solar array in thePacific Northwestwith the goal of using moregreen energyat their Salem plant.
The company was sold in 2006 to a Britishprivate equity group,Lion Capital LLP, for $280–320 million.
In September 2007, the company opened its second US production facility inBeloit, Wisconsin, after receiving $500,000 in state economic development money.Kettle built the first manufacturing plant to be awardedgold certificationin theLEEDprogram from theUnited States Green Building Council.
In October 2007, campaigns were launched onFacebookcalling for a boycott of Kettle Foods productsfollowing allegations that the company was attempting to dissuade workers at itsNorwichfactory from joining theUnitetrade union. The company denied the claim but acknowledged that it had taken advice from Omega Training,a UK subsidiary of the U.S. companyThe Burke Group, specialists inunion avoidance.
In August 2008,California Attorney GeneralJerry Brownannounced a settlement with Kettle Foods,the makersofCape Cod Potato Chips, andFrito-Layfor violating the state'sSafe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act. The state had alleged in 2005 that the potato chips from the companies failed to document that they contained high levels ofacrylamide, acarcinogen. Kettle Foods paid $350,000 in civil penalties and costs and agreed to cut their potato chips' levels of acrylamide to 275 parts per billion by 2011, an 87% reduction.
Lion Capital put Kettle Foods up for sale in December 2009, with an asking price of around US$700 millionand in February 2010 sold it for $615 million to California-basedDiamond Foods, which owns brands such asPop Secretpopcorn.The sale was finalized the following month.
The Kettle Foods UK office also supports a network of independent distributors through which Kettle Foods' products are made available to countries in Europe, the Middle East, and Southeast Asia, including Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Iceland, India, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Luxembourg, Malta, Malaysia, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Singapore, Spain, Switzerland, and Sweden.
Kettle Foods is unaffiliated with theKettle Chipbrand sold inAustraliawhich is owned bySnack Brands Australia.
Kettle Foods products, marketed asall-natural, is best-known for its potato chips.Their potato chips are fried usingexpeller-pressedhigh-monounsaturatedsafflowerand/orsunflowerand/orcanola oil. The company has occasionally held contests to introduce new flavors. The 2006 contest winners were "Tuscan Three Cheese" and "Buffalo Bleu", a spicy, savory chip; past contest winners include "Cheddar Beer", "Jalapeno Jack" and "Spicy Thai".
As of 2016, the ingredients for the company's most basic chip ("Sea Salt") were: potatoes,safflowerand/orsunflowerand/orcanola oil,sea salt.  Many other flavors use ingredients likenatural flavors,spices,citric acid, andyeast extract.
The following is a list of potato chip flavors sold by the company (as of 2018):