Womelsdorf, Pa. -- Uglies Kettle Chips announces it has reached a milestone of rescuing 25 million pounds of "ugly potatoes" that have gone into making the brand's upcycled Uglies Kettle Chips, since its inception in 2017. The 25 millionth pound was rescued at Long Farms in Coudersport, PA.
Uglies, a division of Dieffenbach's Potato Chips Inc., is on a mission to reduce waste, support farmers and fight hunger by using imperfect potatoes, which would otherwise be food waste, to craft delicious kettle-cooked potato chips. Twenty-six percent of U.S. produce gets discarded for cosmetic reasons, and Uglies is part of the solution to reduce this waste. Uglies also fights hunger by donating 10 percent of profits to VivaKids, a Pennsylvania charitable organization dedicated to fighting hunger globally.
"It's exciting to be an upcycle-certified brand with a mission-driven purpose at its core to reduce food waste while also helping farmers and fighting hunger," said Dwight Zimmerman, VP of Sales and Marketing. "Twenty-five million pounds of 'ugly potatoes' have now been put to beautiful use – making delicious kettle chips while helping farmers make ends meet. Every day we are turning something ugly into something beautiful, creating an all-around win for farmers, the community-at-large and our company."
As it celebrates this important milestone, the brand will be inviting attendees of the Natural Products Expo West show to "get ugly." Uglies will have a booth in the North Hall (Booth #N232) and a sampling station in the pre-function space by the South Palm Court (S27) where the Uglies mascot will pose for photos with fun "ugly" props during the exhibition hours at the top of every hour for 30 minutes.
Uglies will also celebrate Earth Month in April in partnership with Salt & Straw Ice Cream and its Upcycled Food Series which runs April 5 to May 2. Salt & Straw will offer a limited-edition flavor of Chocolate Caramel Potato Chip Banana Bread which includes Uglies Kettle Chips and Urban Gleaners Upcycled Bananas. The flavor will be available at all 40 of its scoop shops nationwide and online.
Uglies Kettle Chips are Upcycled Certified by the Upcycled Food Association, which reports that sales of upcycled snacks are up in overall dollar sales by more than 500 percent since 2021. Leading that trend, Uglies Kettle Chips are up over 600 percent in the past three years, and growing about 20 times faster than the Shelf Stable Potato Chips Sub-Category since 2022.
For more information, visit dieffenbachs.com and ugliessnacks.com.