Jays Foods

Last updated
Jays Foods, Inc.
Type Subsidiary
Industry Snack food
Founded1927
FounderLeonard Japp, Sr & William Ruwitch
Headquarters,
USA
Key people
Joe Shankland [1]
President and CEO
Bill Luegers [2]
CFO
ProductsSee products section
Revenue US $78.1 million [2]
Owner

Jays Foods, Inc., is an American manufacturer of snack products including potato chips, popcorn and pretzels. Jays Foods was founded in 1927 in Chicago, Illinois, and is currently a subsidiary of Snyder's of Hanover. [3] Operating in several Midwestern states, Jays Foods' potato chips and popcorn maintain significant shares of their respective markets.

Contents

History

Leonard Japp Sr. began selling pretzels from a truck in 1927. The business grew to feature a potato chip recipe made by Japp's wife, Eugenia. [1] After the Wall Street Crash of 1929, Japp found a new business partner and began selling the chips under the brand name "Mrs. Japp’s Potato Chips". The 1941 Attack on Pearl Harbor and the subsequent anti-Japanese sentiment, however, led to a negative connotation towards the word "Jap" in the United States. [3] The chips were consequently rebranded to "Jays Potato Chips" to avoid the sound-alike name, and the company became Jays Foods, Inc.

Jays Foods remained a family-owned company until 1986, when the company was sold to Borden, Inc. [4] In 1994, Jays Foods was re-acquired by the Japp Family. In 2004, Jays Foods was purchased by Willis Stein & Partners, a Chicago private-equity firm, and, together with another snack company acquired by Willis Stein & Partners, Lincoln Snacks Company, assigned a parent company, Ubiquity Brands.

Jays Foods filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on October 11, 2007, the second time in four years, [5] [6] and permanently closed its Chicago manufacturing plant on December 5, 2007. [7] On December 5, 2007, the remaining assets of Jay's were acquired by Snyder's-Lance, Inc. who have said they will continue to manufacture and distribute Jays products throughout the Midwest. [8] Snyder's-Lance will continue to operate Jays Chicago warehouse and distribution center and its Jeffersonville, Indiana manufacturing facility. [9]

Operations

Jays Foods manufactures, markets and distributes its products in the seven state area of Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Wisconsin, Iowa, Minnesota and Missouri. Jays Foods has distribution centers in fifteen major cities in the seven state marketing area. [4] Jays has 310 company-owned routes, and 200 routes owned by independent distributors. The company has a total of 943 employees. [6]

Market share

Jays Foods does not market its products nationally. Despite competition from national brands such as Frito-Lay, which has a 67 percent market share, [10] Jays Foods has 23 percent share of the potato chip market in Illinois, Indiana, Wisconsin, Missouri, Minnesota and Iowa and over 60 percent market share in the "ready-to-eat" popcorn category. [1] Jays foods has been considering the possibility of competing as a national brand and has conducted marketing research and held focus groups in New Jersey and California. [1]

Products

Jays (potato chips)

Krunchers! (kettle and corn chips)

O-Ke-Doke (popcorn)

Hot Stuff (other snacks)

See also

Notes

  1. 1 2 3 4 US Industry Today: Jays Foods LLC (Retrieved November 28, 2007)
  2. 1 2 Hoover's: Jays Foods, Inc. Factsheet (Retrieved November 29, 2007)
  3. 1 2 3 Potato Pro: Snyder's of Hanover officially acquires Jays Foods (Retrieved June 19, 2008)
  4. 1 2 Jays Foods: Employment Archived 2007-12-15 at the Wayback Machine (Retrieved November 28, 2007)
  5. Rovito
  6. 1 2 Yue
  7. "Jays Chip Plant Closing Wednesday". Sun-Times News Group. Archived from the original on 2007-12-06. Retrieved 2019-11-23.
  8. "Snyders of Hanover Working to Keep Jays Products in Chicago". PR News Now. Archived from the original on 2007-12-11. Retrieved 2019-11-23.
  9. "Jays to close South Side plant throwing 220 out of work". Chicago Business. Retrieved 2008-01-21.
  10. Answers.com: Potato chips, corn chips, and similar snacks (Retrieved November 28, 2007)

Bibliography

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cheetos</span> Brand of corn puff snack food

Cheetos is a crunchy corn puff snack brand made by Frito-Lay, a subsidiary of PepsiCo. Fritos creator Charles Elmer Doolin invented Cheetos in 1948, and began national distribution in the United States. The initial success of Cheetos was a contributing factor to the merger between The Frito Company and H.W. Lay & Company in 1961 to form Frito-Lay. In 1965 Frito-Lay became a subsidiary of The Pepsi-Cola Company, forming PepsiCo, the current owner of the Cheetos brand.

Granny Goose is an American brand of potato chips and other snack foods.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bugles (snack)</span> Corn snack food made by General Mills

Bugles are a corn snack produced by General Mills and Tom's Snacks.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Old Dutch Foods</span> Snack food manufacturer based in Winnipeg, Manitoba

Old Dutch Foods Inc. is a manufacturer of potato chips and other snack foods in the Midwestern United States, New England and Canada. Their product line includes brands such as Old Dutch Potato Chips, Dutch Crunch, Ripples, Cheese Pleesers and Restaurante Style Tortilla Chips.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ruffles (potato chips)</span> Brand of potato chip

Ruffles is an American brand of crinkle-cut potato chips. The Frito Company acquired the rights to Ruffles brand potato chips in 1958 from its creator, Bernhardt Stahmer, who had adopted the trademark in 1948. Frito merged with H.W. Lay & Co. in 1961 to form Frito-Lay. The Ruffle name was used as Ruffles Lays when the product was introduced for the first time in India in 1995 to late 90s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Goldfish (cracker)</span> Fish-shaped cracker

Goldfish are a fish-shaped cracker with a small imprint of an eye and a smile manufactured by Pepperidge Farm, which is a division of the Campbell Soup Company. The brand's current marketing and product packaging incorporate this feature of the product: "The Snack That Smiles Back! Goldfish!", reinforced by Finn, the smiling goldfish mascot with sunglasses. The product is marketed as a "baked snack cracker" on the label with various flavors and varieties.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Smith's Snackfood Company</span> Snack food manufacturing company

The Smith's Snackfood Company is a British-Australian snack food brand owned by the American multinational food, snack, and beverage corporation PepsiCo. It is best known for its brand of potato crisps. The company was founded by Frank Smith and Jim Viney in the United Kingdom in 1920 as Smiths Potato Crisps Ltd, originally packaging a twist of salt with its crisps in greaseproof paper bags which were sold around London. The dominant brand in the UK until the 1960s when Golden Wonder took over with Cheese & Onion, Smith's countered by creating Salt & Vinegar flavour which was launched nationally in 1967.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Snyder's of Hanover</span> American pretzel company

Snyder's of Hanover is an American bakery and pretzel brand distribution company based in Hanover, Pennsylvania, specializing in German traditional pretzels. Its products are sold throughout the United States, Canada, many European nations, Asia, and in the Middle East.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Humpty Dumpty Snack Foods</span> American food company

Humpty Dumpty Snack Foods is an American food company, operating as a subsidiary of Old Dutch Foods, that packages and sells snack foods. The company is named after the nursery rhyme character and features the character as the company logo. Humpty Dumpty products are generally sold in New England, Quebec and Atlantic Canada.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kettle Foods</span> American foods company based in Oregon

Kettle Foods, Inc. is an American manufacturer of potato chips, 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cape Cod Potato Chips</span> American snack food company

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Herr's Snacks</span> Brand of snack food

Herr's is an American brand of potato chips and other snack foods produced and marketed by eponymous private American company Herr Foods Inc. based in Nottingham, Pennsylvania. While their products are sold primarily throughout the Eastern United States and Canada, their stronghold is the Mid-Atlantic region. Herr's products are sold in all 50 American states and in over 40 countries.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Red Hot Riplets</span>

Red Hot Riplets is a kind of spicy potato chips sold in St. Louis, Missouri. Red Hot Riplets are ridge-cut chips covered with hot chili pepper and sweet barbecue powdered seasoning. The label describes the flavoring as "St. Louis Style Hot Sauce".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Petro's Chili & Chips</span> Fast-food chain based in East Tennessee

Petro's Chili & Chips is a small fast-food chain based in Knoxville, Tennessee, with several locations in Knoxville and other parts of East Tennessee.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shearer's Foods</span> Snack product manufacturer

Shearer's Foods, LLC is a U.S. manufacturer and distributor of snack foods. Founded in 1974 as Shearer's Snacks in Brewster, Ohio, the company now has factories in Ohio, Texas, Arkansas, Oregon, Virginia, Iowa, Minnesota and Ontario, with worldwide distribution.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Frito-Lay</span> American company producing snack foods

Frito-Lay, Inc. is an American subsidiary of PepsiCo that manufactures, markets, and sells corn chips, potato chips, and other snack foods. The primary snack food brands produced under the Frito-Lay name include Fritos corn chips, Cheetos cheese-flavored snacks, Doritos and Tostitos tortilla chips, Lay's and Ruffles potato chips, Rold Gold pretzels, and Walkers potato crisps. Each brand generated annual worldwide sales over $1 billion in 2009.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Utz Brands</span> U.S. food company

Utz Brands, Inc., more commonly known as Utz, is an American snack food company based in Hanover, Pennsylvania. The company produces a variety of potato chips, pretzels, and other snacks, with most products sold under their family of brands. Utz is also a snack supplier to warehouse clubs and merchandisers.

Frito-Lay Canada, Inc., formerly the Hostess Frito-Lay Company, is a Canadian division of the U.S.-based Frito-Lay owned as a subsidiary of PepsiCo that manufactures, markets and sells corn chips, potato chips and other snack foods. The primary snack food brands produced under the Frito-Lay name include Fritos corn chips, Cheetos cheese-flavored snacks, Doritos and Tostitos tortilla chips, Lay's and Ruffles potato chips, Smartfood flavored popcorn and Rold Gold pretzels. The company is headquartered in Mississauga, Ontario and has four production plants in Cambridge, Ontario; Lévis, Quebec; Kentville, Nova Scotia; and Taber/Lethbridge, Alberta.