After appearing in several episodes of The History Channel's Series "The Food That Built America", I have now been prominently featured in an associated podcast.
The History Channel's "The FoodThat Built America" that aired on National Potato Chip Day, March 14. Featuring the history of Herman Lay and then rival Fritos! Click here to watch
Mikesell’s brings regional strength to the salty snacks market
The American snack industry has seen a wide range of dramatic changes over the past century. But one constant is Mikesell’s Snack Food Co., founded in Dayton, OH at the dawn of the 20th century, making it one of the oldest snack producers in the country. Today, Mikesell’s is still based in Dayton, and it’s still a family-owned business, still serving the snack needs of a growing and devoted consumer base that has expanded across Ohio, Indiana, Kentucky, and Illinois—as well as select markets nationwide and overseas. As one of the last major family-owned regional salty snack producers, Mikesell’s also brings regional strength to retailers across its distribution network—a fact clearly reinforced during the worst moments of the COVID-19 pandemic. The company also continues to make strategic investments to improve and reinforce its competitive advantages. Historical perspectives Mikesell’s got its start in 1910, when founder Daniel W. Mikesell and his wife Martha established the business to sell dried beef and sausage products in Dayton. But a new phenomenon soon caught their attention: the invention of “Saratoga chips.” Recipes for thinly sliced, fried potatoes had appeared in French culinary publications as early as 1795, with a recipe by early American culinary writer Mary Randolph penned in 1824 (as noted in the definitive historical tome, “The Oxford Companion to American Food and Drink,” edited by Andrew F. Smith). But it was the legend born in Saratoga Springs, NY that propelled the salty snack into the American consciousness.