There's a new chip
I saw an article published by the Idaho Farm Bureau Federation which headlined “Idaho chip company opens new headquarters". I thought to myself why is Farm Bureau interested in something that might compete with Micron. Then it dawned on me, wrong type of chip.
Kyle Nehring and his wife, Amy, started their potato chip business in their basement, bagging potato chips after work and getting excited when they bagged enough to fill up the kitchen table.
Now, their company, Teton Valley Brands, is producing about 10,000 bags of chips a day “and this is just the beginning,” Kyle said Aug. 20 at the grand opening of the company’s new headquarters in Caldwell.
The new headquarters is about four times bigger than the previous one in Nampa and provides plenty of room for growth.
Teton Valley Brands’ Real Idaho Potato Chips brand is growing rapidly, Kyle told about 50 people, including Gov. Brad Little, who showed up for the groundbreaking.
“We’ve seen a lot of growth recently,” he said.
Kyle told Idaho Farm Bureau Federation the company is proud of its Idaho roots and wants to represent what’s best about the state and its iconic potato industry.
“It’s such a fantastic brand that Idaho has,” he said. “We’re so proud of our Idaho roots ... Idaho is famous around the world for potatoes, obviously. Everyone knows that.”
Cranney Farms, a fifth-generation farm based in Oakley, is the primary supplies of potatoes to Teton Valley Brands, which also produces branded potato chips specifically for University of Idaho and Boise State University.
“Our company’s goal is to represent everything great about Idaho,” Kyle said. “So we wanted to make sure we partnered with a farm with deep Idaho roots, and Cranney’s farm is exactly that.”
“It’s been a great partnership we’re super excited about,” Cranney CEO Ryan Cranney told IFBF.
Teton Valley Brands CEO Matt Price thanked Cranney Farms and all the other people involved with the company’s success over the years.
“This doesn’t happen with just a couple people,” he said.
Teton Valley Brands recently started a new line of chips made with 100 percent American Wagyu beef tallow supplied by Idaho-based Agri Beef, the parent company of Snake River Farms, the largest producer of Wagyu beef in North America.
“The tallow just has such a unique richness to it and we’ve seen the market really excited about that,” Kyle told IFBF. “Customers have given us phenomenal feedback about that. We’re real excited about that product.”
Kyle said it took everything to get the company started and the first facility was funded with some money from his parents and the sale of his and Amy’s house.
“We’re not like that anymore; we promise,” he joked to the crowd. “But it really took everything to get this company going.”
Teton Valley Brands’ story is one of hard work and perseverance, Little said during the groundbreaking.
“This is really a great story,” he said, adding that he was impressed when he found out Kyle is the head taster for the company.
“From the soil to the shelf, they’re involved in every step of the way,” he said about the company’s founders. “We’ve spent a lot of time and effort on that Idaho potato brand. This is just very, very Idaho: Families. Start from nothing. Great ideas. Hard work. All of that. It’s just an iconic Idaho story and I’m very proud to be here today.”
