| Type | Private company |
|---|---|
| Industry | Snack food |
| Founded | 1934 |
| Headquarters | Roseville, Minnesota |
| Key people | Steven C. Aanenson[1] President and CEO |
| Products | See products section |
| Revenue | US $433 Million (2008)[1] |
| Employees | 1000[1] |
| Website | Old Dutch Foods |
Old Dutch Foods is a manufacturer of potato chips and other snack foods in the Midwestern United States and Canada. Their product line includes brands such as Old Dutch Potato Chips, Dutch Crunch, Ripples, Cheese Pleesers and Restaurante Style Tortilla Chips.
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The company began as Old Dutch Products Co. in 1934. They originated in St. Paul, Minnesota, but moved to Minneapolis in 1937. In 1968, they moved again, this time to Roseville, Minnesota, where they remain today.
Old Dutch opened a plant in Winnipeg, Manitoba, in 1954 to manufacture chips for the Canadian market. The head office for Canadian operations remains in Winnipeg.
In 2005, they introduced Old Dutch beef jerky.
Today, their American arm is officially called Old Dutch Foods, Inc., and their Canadian arm is Old Dutch Foods, Ltd. They celebrated their 70th anniversary in 2004 with a line of television commercials.
Old Dutch Foods acquired Humpty Dumpty Snack Foods in a C$26.7 million takeover bid in 2006.[2]
The Old Dutch brand is mainly known for the many flavours of potato chips they produce. They come in bags and "twin packs"; cardboard boxes with two packages of chips inside.
Old Dutch Potato Chips advertising also featured a memorable 1989 commercial. The ad features a cartoon potato farmer dancing and singing with his live potatoes on the plantation. The trademark Old Dutch windmill can also be seen in the background. Other ads from the time period featured the signature windmill in cartoon or computer animated form, a relatively uncommon practice for its time.
Potato chip flavors available in the United States include the flagship Regular flavor, as well as Sour Cream & Onion, Cheddar & Sour Cream, Dill Pickle, Bar-B-Q, and Onion & Garlic. In addition, Ripples Chips are available in Original, French, Mesquite Bar-B-Q, and Loaded Spud varieties. On February 4, 2008, Mexican Chili and Au Gratin were reintroduced back to Canada. Other products include Dutch Crunch kettle-cooked chips, cheese puffs, Puffcorn (puffed corn twists), Restaurante Style tortilla chips, pretzels, dips and salsas, and beef jerky.
Many of the same products are available in Canada. There are also chip flavours unique to Canada; these include Ketchup, All Dressed, Crispy Bacon, and Salt'n Vinegar. Other products available in Canada and the USA include Arribas (flavoured tortilla chips, similar to Doritos), and Bac'n Puffs.
List of Potato Flavours available in Canada:
List of Restaurante Style chips available in Western Canada:
Old Dutch Foods maintains several manufacturing facilities and distribution centers.
Canada
There are also 11 distribution centers across Western Canada.
US
On the July 21, 2009 episode of Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, Host Jimmy Fallon and guests Will Arnett and Emmanuelle Chriqui (Who are both Canadian) all ate a basket of Canadian snack foods, one of them being Ketchup flavoured Old Dutch Chips. Old Dutch products were also featured in the Canadian comedy "Corner Gas". In the Coen Brothers "Fargo", they make a cameo on Marge Olmstead Gunderson and Norman Gunderson's bed.