Uglies Brings Upcycled Chips Into C-Store Channel
Upcycled potato chip maker Uglies is pushing deeper into convenience, working to prioritize the channel to grow awareness for the brand and its food waste reduction mission at a time when retailers are on the lookout for sustainable products.
“The whole idea of sustainability has really gained a lot of traction [among retailers],” said Bob Zender, director of marketing at parent company Dieffenbach’s Snacks. “We’ve just gotten some new retail authorizations, and that was basically the catalyst for the conversation: We need sustainable brands that people are going to feel good about buying.”
According to Zender, the channel presents a natural growth opportunity for the brand to capture Millenial and Gen Z c-store shoppers. The Dieffenbach’s-owned brand, which exhibited at the National Association of Convenience Stores (NACS) show this year for the first time, recently added a hole punch to its single-serve 2 oz. bags to maximize grab-and-go merchandising opportunities. That format, alongside its 1 oz. single-serves, will be available for between $0.90 to $2.99 each, depending on the size and where it is purchased.
Those formats are meant to take Uglies’ deeper into c-stores. The company is also now offering a smaller, 10-count pack size of the single-serve bags to retailers as well.
“That’s so the retailers don’t feel like they’re over investing in something they haven’t tried – same principle as the consumers buying a smaller bag,” explained Zender. “We’ve greased the skids a little bit to make that an easier buy for the consumer and the customer, and it’s gotten traction. In fact, this last year we became the premier kettle chip brand at Buc-ees.”
Dieffenbach’s launched Uglies in 2017 in an effort to modernize the 60-year-old kettle chip company’s farmer-first mission. Founded in 1964, Dieffenbach’s namesake chip brand began with the same approach it has now put center stage at Uglies: sourcing potatoes that are imperfect or not-the-right-size for commercial chippers and repurposing them into kettle chips.
“Our specs aren’t as stringent based on size or shape,” Zender said. “We don’t body shame our potatoes. We love them anyway… They’re still perfectly fine potatoes just not up to spec for some of the larger chippers that require uniformity.”
“There’s a little bit of an educational hurdle to get over, and then just the general challenges of growth overall – keeping up with supply and controlling quality and things that are just natural for growth of a business,” said Zender. “But the family-owned business is in this third generation, and they are committed to long term growth and conservative mentality, great philosophy of business and great philanthropic mindset that’s just great to be part of.
The upcycled brand has “rescued” 30 million pounds of potatoes since launch. For context, the brand rescued 5 million pounds as of 2022 and crossed the 25 million pound mark in January. That growth followed a packaging overhaul in 2022 that brought a new logo, revamped potato character and brighter and more boldly colored bags.
That message is now expected to expand Uglies’ market presence, Zender said. Jim Biondolillo recently joined as SVP of Sales and Marketing to help support the brand’s distribution growth efforts, which Zender emphasized has plenty of runway. He noted that currently Uglies has deeper distribution in grocery on the West Coast where it was first launched, but it is working to secure more stores in the central part of the country and along the East Coast.
“There’s a big gap within the convenience and food store channel that we’re trying to fill… and there’s still other retailers in the [conventional] and natural food channels that we can accommodate,” said Zender. “This past year, we’ve probably seen about 20% [sales] growth, and that’s something that we’re looking to continue, but it’s not a small base.”
