Procter & Gamble wanted to design a chip that didn't break and was uniform in flavour and shape in 1956. This was done to address customer complaints about potato chip bags breaking and staleness.
Procter & Gamble hired organic chemist Fred Baur to build a new chip to address customer problems. Fred Baur designed saddle-shaped chips from fried dough and a tubular can to store them. Supercomputers ensured that the chips fit in the tubular aluminum-coated container and were aerodynamic enough to prevent breaking.
Baur created Pringles' design and can, but he struggled to perfect the taste. He couldn't make Pringles taste right. Baur was assigned a new product assignment. In the mid-1960s, P&G researcher Alexander Liepa from Montgomery, Ohio, restarted Fred Baur's study and improved the chip taste.
The 1976 Pringles patent credits Alexander Liepa, not Fred Baur. Pringles' December 21, 1976 patent describes the snack as "a potato chip product and technique in which a dough is produced from dried, boiled potatoes and water then fried."
Pringles is typically considered a potato chip; however, its parent corporation calls it "crisps." When Pringles first came out, it was called "Pringles Newfangled Potato Chips," but other snack companies objected to the name.
In 1975, the FDA determined that Pringles could only use the word "chip" in the phrase "dry potato chips." Instead, the firm called Pringles potato "crisps" In the U.K., potato crisp is considered the same as a potato chip.
Pringles was liable to a 17.5% Value Added Tax because of a UK VAT and Duties Tribunal judgement. In July 2008, P&G lawyers won their appeal in London High Court. Pringles are called "Potato Crisps," however Procter & Gamble maintained they are not crisps. Pringles' shape isn't natural, and just 42% of them are potatoes.
Lord Justice Jacob observed, "There's enough potato to say it's made from potato." Pringles was exempted from 17.5% VAT when the court agreed with P&G. The Court of Appeal reversed the judgement in May 2009, exposing Pringles to 17.5% VAT. Procter & Gamble paid VAT proactively, possibly to avoid back taxes. Pringles' container tubes still say "potato crisps" in 2019.
Gene Wolfe, a mechanical engineer and science fiction author, invented the Pringles machine. Wolf stated this man invented how to manufacture potato dough by wrapping it between two forms. Wolf said he didn't create the device and developed it with a German whose name he forgot.
Gene Wolfe worked on the engineering development of the Pringles cooking apparatus. Wolf said the employee responsible for can filling nearly went insane when pressed to increase production. Len Hooper developed the Pringles dough-making/rolling equipment.
Pringles' name has many possible origins. Mark Pringle filed a patent titled "Method and Apparatus for Processing Potatoes" on March 5, 1937. Procter & Gamble credited Mark Pringle's innovation in their patent for enhancing dehydrated processed potatoes.
Two Procter advertising employees who resided on Pringle Drive in Finneytown (north of Cincinnati, Ohio) may have felt it paired nicely with potato. Myth: The name was randomly chosen from a Cincinnati phone book for its appealing tone.
Pringles potato chips debuted in 1967, over a decade after development began. In the mid-1970s, the product was offered nationwide in the U.S. Pringles didn't sell well in the 1960s and '70s because many people didn't like the flavour.
Some asked Procter & Gamble to drop Pringles during its early days. In the late 1970s, Procter's food division vice president Charles Jarvie said of Pringles, "When I got there, it was dead." In the 1980s, Pringles' flavour was changed, and a new advertising campaign dubbed "Fever for the Flavor of Pringles" began.
Pringles became Procter & Gamble's largest brand, generating over $1 billion by the late 1990s. By 2011, Pringles was sold in more than 140 countries and was one of the world's most popular snack brands, with 2.2% of the market share.
Procter & Gamble announced on April 5 that it would sell the Pringles brand to a California-based food company. The $2.35 billion purchase would have increased Diamond Foods' snack division and included $1.5 billion in Diamond stock. The agreement was cancelled in February 2012 due to Diamond Foods account concerns.
Kellogg's bought Pringles from P&G for $2.695 billion on February 15, 2012. After P&G's deal with Diamond Foods fell, the value was put together quickly. Kellogg bought Pringles to add to its snack brands Cheez-It and Keebler. The deal tripled Kellogg's snack business. On May 31, 2012, Kellogg became the world's second-largest snack company.
Pringles are a hyperbolic paraboloid. It's a double-ruled surface with skewed lines. Pringles are made in Tennessee, Belgium, Malaysia, Poland, and China. On Pringles containers, the mascot is a man's face. Julius Pringle's mascot has a mustache. Pringles varieties have included Grilled Shrimp, Milk Chocolate, and Cheddar Cheese.
Helia Mohammadi
Social Media Specialist
Adicator Digital Marketing Agency