Celebrating National Potato Chip Day in Georgia: from Frito-Lay to New Georgia Grown Start-Ups

Around social media, National Pi Day is grabbing a huge slice of attention and posts.

But in the scheme of "national something or other days," it's not all about Pi. March 14 also is National Potato Chip Day, and we Georgians have some home state favorites to celebrate.

While social media is abuzz over National Pi Day, March 14 also is National Potato Chip Day -- and Georgia deserves more than crumbs.Photo byOlga KozachenkoonUnsplash

George "Crum" Breck of Saratoga, NY, generally is credited with invention of the potato chip during his work at Moon Lake House. Others give credit to his sister, Kate Wicks. And cookbooks predating those "inventions" also provide recipes for the fried, thin-sliced potatoes.

But potato chips went mainstream when a Georgia salesman named Herman Lay popularized the tasty treats, selling them throughout the South from his Ford Model-A. Lay borrowed $100 to start his own distributing company, HW Lay and Company, based on Atlanta. He then expanded to manufacture chips and other snacks, eventually merging his firm to become The Frito-Lay Company – the world’s largest producer of potato chips and other snacks.

Frito-Lay continues its potato chip manufacturing in Georgia today, operating a massive facility in Perry. In 2020, the company announced a $200 million expansion to make the facility it largest in North America. You can see the factory in operation in a video from the company’s web pages.

While Frito-Lay may be the largest potato chip producer in Georgia, it’s not the only one. Several home-state start-ups have added more chip options for Georgia potato lovers. Those include:

• Brother Kane Chips. Brother Kane’s proclaims its love of home grown potatoes and pulls them from a family farm near Atlanta. The company produces a range of flavored chips. Traditionalists might go for the cracked pepper with salt or BBQ chips. But the more adventurous could choose from Buffalo Wing Bleu Cheese, Hot Sauce, Jalapeno and even Baby Back Ribs.
• Symphony Potato Chips. Based in Atlanta, Symphony Potato Chips started as an entrepreneurial family’s spice business. Now, the firm offers a full-line of gluten-free, all-natural, no MSG flavored chips, which “pair well with wine and IPA beers.” The black-owned business honored potato chip legend George “Crum” Breck by starting “Symphony Crumbs,” a nonprofit group.