Did you ever eat Laura Scudder's Potato Chips - "the noisiest chips in the
world"? They are "just like you
remember!" Scudder started a food company
in 1926 after careers as a nurse and an attorney. While she studied for the bar exam, she and
her husband ran a restaurant. They later
ran a gasoline station. Her food company
produced potato chips and later, peanut butter and mayonnaise. Her innovations in packaging helped potato
chips to become a mass market product.
Early potato chips were packaged in barrels or tins. The chips at the bottom of the containers
were often stale and crumbled.
package from the 1940s via http://farm5.staticflickr.com/4086/5194890079_dd611c1690.jpg
Scudder asked her female employees to take home sheets of
wax paper and iron them into the shape of sealable bags. This was her first innovation in potato chip
packaging. Cellophane was invented by a
Swiss chemist in 1912. A moisture-proof
version, manufactured by Du Pont, became available in America in 1927. Use of cellophane as potato chip packaging
further increased the freshness and crispness of the chips.
Laura Scudder's was the first company to place freshness
dates on food products. The date helped
ensure that the product would live up to its reputation as the noisiest
(crunchiest and freshest) chips in the world.
Despite her determination, Scudder faced many obstacles as a
woman entrepreneur during the Great Depression.
Male insurance agents turned her down when she searched for a policy for
the company's sole delivery truck. They
thought a woman would not reliably pay the premiums. Scudder found a female insurance agent and
insured the company's fleet as it grew.
Laura Scudder's had 1,000 employees and 50% of the potato
chip market in 1953. Scudder turned down
a $9 million offer for the company when the potential buyer wouldn't guarantee
employees' jobs. She sold the company
for $6 million to a more agreeable buyer in 1957. Today, her peanut butter line is marketed by
Smucker's and her potato chips are marked by Shearer's Foods.
Related Reading on CR4: August
24, 1853 - The First Potato Chip
Resources:
The
Associated Press: Monterey Park recalls
amazing Laura Scudder
Laura Clough
Scudder
Laura
Scudder's: History
Wikipedia: Cellophane
Wikipedia: Laura Scudder [image]
| 
Re: Laura Scudder (1881 - 1959): Potato Chip Packaging Pioneer
