HERR'S POTATO CHIPS
Established Circa 1946
In 1946, Jim Herr, then 21 years old, purchased a small potato chip company in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.[4][5] Initial sales averaged approximately thirty dollars a week.[6]
In 1958, the company introduced flavored potato chips, and in 1974, switched to foil packaging from the traditional glassine bags. The 1970s and 1980s saw a growth in the snack food industry which prompted an expansion in the variety of products being manufactured, including corn chips, tortilla chips, and pretzels. The 1980s also saw the addition of the Herr Angus Farm, a cattle farm which made use of potato waste products.
Jim Herr began transferring control of the company to his sons, Ed Herr and J. M. Herr, in the 1990s, with Ed taking over as company spokesman. Jim Herr retired as company chair in favor of J. M. Herr in January 2005, but remained on the board of directors until his death. Jim Herr died on April 5, 2012, at the age of 87. Ed Herr and J. M. Herr assumed the roles of president and executive chairman respectively.