Tyrrells Potato Crisps Ltd (

trading as A trade name, trading name, or business name is a pseudonym used by companies that do not operate under their registered company name. The term for this type of alternative name is fictitious business name. Registering the fictitious name with ...

Tyrrells) is a British manufacturer of potato crisps owned by

KP Snacks KP Snacks Limited is a British producer of branded and own-label maize-, potato-, and nut-based snacks, "Choc Dips" and nuts. The ''KP'' stands for “Kenyon Produce”. The company is based in Slough, England. History The company was founded ...

History

Tyrrells was founded in

Leominster Leominster ( ) is a market town in Herefordshire, England; it is located at the confluence of the River Lugg and its tributary the River Kenwater. The town is north of Hereford and south of Ludlow in Shropshire. With a population of almos ...

Herefordshire Herefordshire ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England, bordered by Shropshire to the north, Worcestershire to the east, Gloucestershire to the south-east, and the Welsh ...

, in 2002 by farmer and entrepreneur William Chase. Within several years of its creation, Tyrrells expanded its market into Europe and later into the U.S. Tyrrells has received numerous awards for the taste and quality of its crisps, both in England, as well as internationally. In April 2008, Chase sold a majority stake for £40 million to Langholm Capital. Chase had a long running dispute with

Tesco Tesco plc () is a British multinational groceries and general merchandise retailer headquartered in the United Kingdom at its head offices in Welwyn Garden City, England. The company was founded by Jack Cohen (businessman), Sir Jack Cohen in ...

over stocking his potatoes, and so refused to sell them any supplies of Tyrrells. He said that his previous farming business had collapsed when "the large supermarkets, led by Tesco, began sourcing produce from overseas to push down costs." After Langholm took over, they dropped the existing distribution chain, and focused on large supermarkets including Tesco; they then dropped Chase as a supplier of potatoes when they "found they could get them cheaper elsewhere". Chase used the money from the sale of his stake in Tyrrells to start production of Chase Vodka, again using his own farmed potatoes. In July 2013, the firm was sold for £100 million to

Investcorp Investcorp is a global manager of alternative investment products, for private and institutional clients. Founded in Bahrain in 1982, the firm has offices in United States, United Kingdom, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, India, China, ...

, a

Bahrain Bahrain, officially the Kingdom of Bahrain, is an island country in West Asia. Situated on the Persian Gulf, it comprises a small archipelago of 50 natural islands and an additional 33 artificial islands, centered on Bahrain Island, which mak ...

-based luxury brands investor. In 2015, Tyrrells acquired Yarra Valley Snack Foods, based in

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

, Australia, where it now manufactures products for the Australian market. In August 2016, US-based Amplify Snacks, maker of Skinny Pop popcorn, bought Tyrrells from Investcorp for £300 million. David Milner, Tyrrells' chief executive, said: "As a small, UK farm-based business it is a tremendous achievement to be now part of a US publicly traded company with the international reach to make Tyrrells a global brand." The company will continue to be based in Herefordshire. Amplify Snacks was subsequently acquired by

The Hershey Company The Hershey Company, often called just Hershey or Hershey's, is an American multinational corporation, multinational confectionery company headquartered in Hershey, Pennsylvania, which is also home to Hersheypark and Hershey's Chocolate World. T ...

. In May 2018, KP Snacks acquired Tyrrells.

Products

Tyrrells produces a number of different types of crisps, popcorn and tortilla. they produce 25 flavours of potato and vegetable crisps. In 2010,

Perry Haydn Taylor Perry Haydn Taylor (born 1966) is an English creative director, designer and entrepreneur, who lives in Somerset and works in London. He is the founder of big fish a branding design and marketing consultancy. Career Haydn Taylor founded Big Fis ...

of the agency Big Fish Design began work on branding and marketing Tyrrells, creating the "quintessentially English" identity of the product.

Notes

References

Food manufacturers of England Food and drink companies established in 2002 Brand name potato chips and crisps British snack foods 2002 establishments in England Companies based in Herefordshire Snack food manufacturers of the United Kingdom {{england-company-stub