Charles Chips is an American maker of snack foods, especially potato chips.
1942- Effie Musser began making potato chips as a means of creating additional income for her family. Her husband, Si, was a farmer. Effie took her chips to Central Market, Lancaster, PA on Tuesday and Friday mornings to sell at stall 151.
A snack distributor in Baltimore, MD heard about Effie’s good tasting chips and contracted with her to supply bulk chips delivered to him. He repacked the bulk chips into his branded tin can, Charles Chips, named after Charles St, Baltimore, MD. He had financial issues and since Effie was his largest creditor and he chose to sell his assets to her rather than go bankrupt. At this point, the potato chip business was generating more revenue than the farm was, so Si joined Effie in the business and hired a tenant farmer to do the farm chores.
By 1946, production had grown from their small residential kitchen to a 50 foot by 250 foot cement block building. At the time, Si and Effie were producing private label potato chips for Fritos and A&P while building the home delivery concept with Charles Chips. In the late 50’s Si and Effie expanded the Charles Chips brand to include Charles Pretzels and Charles Cookies and in the years ahead developed a Christmas Holiday Gift program. In 1962, a new plant was built in Calhoun, KY to service the mid-west and south.
In 1974, the business model of home delivery became more challenging. The company made a strategic move to develop retail packaging and market their products into grocery and convenience stores. In 1979, Charles Chips began distribution into the California market from the Calhoun, KY plant.
In 1984, Charles Chips completed construction of a state of the art pretzel and corn based snack production facility in Mountville, PA.
In 1990, the company had wholesale revenue in excess of $45 million. In 1991, the Mussers sold Charles Chips to a group of investors from Philadelphia. This new company went bankrupt 18 months later.
In 1993, Charles Chips was acquired by a popcorn company from Tampa, FL. They too went bankrupt about 18 months later.
In 1996, Hillside Snacks in Arlington, NJ acquired the Charles Chips trademark and started marketing Charles Chips under a different recipe.
In early 2011, the Scardino family bought the brand, with plans to bring back the original recipes and the tins.