Zapp's

{{Short description|Potato chip brand}} {{Infobox company | name = Zapp's | logo = [[Image:Zappslogo.png|Zapp's logo|135px]] | type = Subsidiary | genre = | foundation = 1985 | founder = Ron Zappe | location_city = [[Gramercy, Louisiana]] | location_country = U.S. | location =  | key_people = | area_served = | industry = Food | products = | services = | revenue = | operating_income = | net_income = | num_employees = | parent = [[Utz Quality Foods]] | divisions = | subsid = | owner = | homepage = {{URL|http://www.zapps.com}} | dissolved = | footnotes = }} '''Zapp's''' is a brand of [[potato chip]] made in the [[United States]]. The chips are [[Kettle cooked|kettle-cooked]] in [[peanut oil]] (instead of [[vegetable oil]], which many other companies use), except for the Bourbon St. Smokey Sweet flavor which are 'thin & crispy'. Zapp's market themselves with their [[Cajun]] heritage,<ref>Donald J. Boudreaux, [http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/opinion/columnists/boudreaux/s_314030.html "A chip off the energy industry block"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090428114917/http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/opinion/columnists/boudreaux/s_314030.html |date=2009-04-28 }}, ''[[Pittsburgh Tribune-Review]]'', March 17, 2005.</ref> using names such as "Spicy Cajun Crawtator", "Sour Cream and Creole Onion" and "Cajun Dill Gator-tators". Others, in addition to the "Regular Flavored" include "Hotter 'N Hot Jalapeño",<ref>Lisa Belkin, [https://www.nytimes.com/1988/06/01/garden/at-the-nation-s-table-houston.html At the Nation's Table: Houston"], ''[[New York Times]]'', June 1, 1988.</ref> "Mesquite BBQ" and "Voodoo" chip flavors. They have also marketed numerous chips such as a limited edition [[Mardi Gras]] chip.

==History== ===Founding=== The company was founded by Ron Zappe, who graduated from [[Texas A&M University]] with a degree in industrial engineering and became a distributor of pumps and other oil-field equipment. His four companies went bankrupt during the [[1980s oil glut|1980s oil bust]]; he moved from Houston to Louisiana and started a potato chip business.<ref>Mary Fonseca, [http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1154/is_n5_v78/ai_8980531/ "Cajun crunchies - Ron Zappe's potato chip business"], ''Nation's Business'', May 1990.</ref> (Zappe later received national attention for his [[1988 United States presidential election|1988]] campaign appearance on behalf of Republican vice presidential candidate [[Dan Quayle]], crediting a jobs program co-created by Quayle with enabling him to start his factory in Gramercy.<ref>Bob Secter, [https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1988-09-01-mn-4585-story.html "Strategists Craft Positive Image: Quayle Campaign Turns From Survival to Offense"], ''[[Los Angeles Times]]'', September 1, 1988.</ref><ref>Michael Kranish, [https://web.archive.org/web/20121102113005/http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/boston/access/59665289.html?dids=59665289:59665289&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=Sep+11,+1988&author=Michael+Kranish,+Globe+Staff&pub=Boston+Globe+(pre-1997+Fulltext)&desc=BELEAGUERED+JOB+PROGRAM+COULD+BE+THORN+IN+QUAYLE+CAMP&pqatl=google "Beleaguered Job Program Could Be Thorn In Quayle Camp"], ''[[Boston Globe]]'', September 11, 1988 (pay site).</ref>) Zappe's first creation, the Cajun Crawtator, was introduced in 1985 as the nation's first spicy Cajun chip. Zapp's "Tiger Tators" were the first food product licensed by [[Louisiana State University]], and it also sold "[[Who Dat?]]" chips in honor of the [[New Orleans Saints]]. Zapp's most popular flavor is "Voodoo" which was created in 2008 by Kevin Holden, General Manager and a shareholder of the company. In 1993 Zapp's acquired the Dirty Chip Company in [[Memphis, Tennessee]], which manufactures Dirty Chips brand kettle chips. In 2006 Zapp's acquired the California Chip Company in [[Oxnard, California]], which manufactures California Chips brand potato chips. Zappe appeared on ''[[The Oprah Winfrey Show]]'' in 1997, and the chips were profiled in national publications such as ''[[People (magazine)|People]]'' and ''[[The Wall Street Journal]]''. ===Death of founder, sale to Utz Quality Foods=== Zappe died in [[Houston, Texas]] on June 1, 2010, at the age of 67.<ref>[http://www.2theadvocate.com/news/95368104.html "Zapp's Potato Chips founder dies"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100603200110/http://www.2theadvocate.com/news/95368104.html |date=2010-06-03 }}, ''[[The Advocate (Louisiana)|The Advocate]]'' (Baton Rouge, La.), June 1, 2010.</ref><ref>Anna Brown, [http://www.wbrz.com/news/zapps-creator-owner-dies-at-age-67/ "Zapp's creator, owner dies at age 67"] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110723003146/http://www.wbrz.com/news/zapps-creator-owner-dies-at-age-67/ |date=July 23, 2011 }}, [[WBRZ-TV]], June 1, 2010.</ref> In January 2011, it was reported that the company would be sold to [[Utz Quality Foods]] of [[Hanover, Pennsylvania]].<ref>[http://www.nola.com/business/index.ssf/2011/01/zapps_being_sold_to_pennsylvan.html "Zapp's of Gramercy being sold to Pennsylvania company"], [[Associated Press|AP]] in ''[[Times-Picayune]]'', January 7, 2011.</ref> The sale to Utz was completed in April 2011. Zapp's operates as a wholly owned subsidiary and no longer manufactures at the [[Gramercy, Louisiana]], plant.

==References== {{Reflist}}

==External links== *[http://www.zapps.com Zapp's.com] *[http://neworleanscitybusiness.com/blog/2013/03/08/former-zapps-execs-entering-tortilla-business Former Zapp's execs entering tortilla business]

[[Category:1985 establishments in Louisiana]] [[Category:Brand name potato chips and crisps]] [[Category:Food and drink companies based in Louisiana]] [[Category:Food and drink companies established in 1985]] [[Category:Snack food manufacturers of the United States]] [[Category:St. James Parish, Louisiana]] [[Category:Utz Brands]]