written like an advertisement . please help improve it by removing promotional content and inappropriate external links and by adding encyclopedic content written from a neutral point of view . october 2013 learn how and when to remove this template message kettle foods product type snack foods owner diamond foods since 2010 country united states introduced 1978 as n.s. khalsa company markets usa canada europe middle east previous owners lion capital 2006 2010 website www.kettlebrand.com kettle foods inc. is an international manufacturer of potato chips tortilla chips and nut butters based in salem oregon united states with a european and middle east headquarters in norwich united kingdom . as of 2006 they were the largest natural potato chip brand in the u.s. 1 the company founded in 1978 by cameron healy has been owned by diamond foods since 2010 and was previously sold to lion capital in 2006 . contents 1 history 2 outside of the us and uk 3 potato chips 3.1 ingredients 3.2 potato chip flavors 4 references 5 external links history edit the company was founded by cameron healy in 1978 as the n.s. khalsa company ; it produced its first potato chips in 1982 . 2 in 1988 following a motorcycle trip taken by the company s founder and his son kettle foods established a uk branch in a converted shoe factory in norwich ; the branch moved five years later to its current uk home a newly built factory on the outskirts of norwich in norfolk england . 3 in 2003 the company installed the largest solar array in the pacific northwest with the goal of using more green energy at their salem plant . 4 5 the company was sold in 2006 to a british private equity group lion capital llp for 280 320 million . 6 in september 2007 the company opened its second us production facility in beloit wisconsin lured there by 500 000 in state economic development money . 7 kettle built the first manufacturing plant to be awarded gold certification in the leed program from the united states green building council . 7 in october 2007 campaigns were launched on facebook calling for a boycott of kettle foods products 8 following allegations that the company was attempting to dissuade workers at its norwich factory from joining trade union unite . the company denied the claim but acknowledged that it had taken advice from omega training 9 a uk subsidiary of the u.s. company the burke group specialists in union avoidance . 10 in august 2008 california attorney general jerry brown announced a settlement with kettle foods the makers of cape cod potato chips and frito lay for violating the state s safe drinking water and toxic enforcement act . the state had alleged in 2005 that the potato chips from the companies failed to document that they contained high levels of acrylamide a carcinogen . kettle foods paid 350 000 in civil penalties and costs and agreed to cut their potato chips levels of acrylamide to 275 parts per billion by 2011 an 87 % reduction . 11 12 lion capital put kettle foods up for sale in december 2009 with an asking price of around us 700 million 6 and in february 2010 sold it for 615 million to california based diamond foods which owns brands such as pop secret popcorn . 13 the sale was finalized the following month . 14 outside of the us and uk edit the kettle foods uk office also supports a network of independent distributors through which kettle foods products are made available to the middle east and european countries including austria belgium denmark finland france germany greece iceland ireland israel italy luxembourg malta malaysia netherlands norway portugal singapore spain switzerland and sweden . 15 kettle foods is unaffiliated with the kettle chip brand sold in australia which is owned by snack brands australia . potato chips edit kettle foods has exclusively all natural products with its best known brand being its potato chips batch cooked and extra crunchy . their potato chips are fried using expeller pressed high monounsaturated safflower and or sunflower and or canola oil . the company has occasionally held contests to introduce new flavors . the 2006 contest winners were tuscan three cheese and buffalo bleu a spicy savory chip ; past contest winners include cheddar beer jalapeno jack and spicy thai . 16 ingredients edit as of 2016 the ingredients for the company s most basic chip sea salt was potatoes safflower and or sunflower and or canola oil sea salt . many other flavors use ingredients like natural flavors spices citric acid and yeast extract . potato chip flavors edit the following is a list of potato chip flavors sold by the company as of 2012 united states 17 backyard barbeque buffalo bleu krinkle cut cheddar & sour cream krinkle cut classic barbeque krinkle cut honey dijon jalape o maple bacon new york cheddar salt & fresh ground pepper krinkle cut sea salt regular and krinkle cut sea salt & vinegar sour cream & onion spicy thai sriracha unsalted in 2012 kettle chips celebrated their 30th anniversary 18 by offering four retired flavors cheddar beer jalapeno jack red chili salsa with mesquite united kingdom 19 crispy bacon & maple syrup gressingham duck plum sauce and spring onion jalape o chilli lightly salted mature cheddar & red onion no added salt sea salt with crushed black peppercorns sea salt & balsamic vinegar smoky barbecue sour cream and onion spicy chilli sweet chilli & sour cream rest of europe and the middle east as of 2013 20 honey barbecue mature cheddar & red onion sea salt sea salt and balsamic vinegar sea salt & crushed black pepper sea salt rosemary & garlic sour cream & sweet onion sweet chilli & sour cream references edit kish matthew . kettle foods sold to british group portland business journal august 9 2006 . kettlefoods.com our history . retrieved december 12 2009 . our story so far from the company s uk website kettle foods from the energy trust website kettle foods from the state of oregon website a b kettle foods for sale . portland business journal . december 10 2009 . retrieved december 12 2009 . a b kettle foods opens green plant in beloit . wisc tv . september 20 2007 . retrieved december 12 2009 . consumers start online campaign to boycott kettle chips an october 9 2007 article from the guardian internet campaign to boycott foods an october 11 2007 article from norwich evening news the burke group atty. gen. brown settles potato chip lawsuit with heinz frito lay & kettle foods . press release . state of california . august 1 2008 . retrieved october 28 2011 . under today s settlements frito lay inc. which sells most of the potato chips sold in california kettle foods inc. maker of kettle chips and lance inc. maker of cape cod chips will reduce acrylamide over a period of three years to 275 parts per billion . for frito lay this is about a 20 % reduction while for kettle chips which contain far more acrylamide this is an 87 % reduction in acrylamide . lazarus david august 6 2008 . a stone wall made of potato chips . consumer confidential . los angeles times . retrieved october 28 2011 . bloomberg news february 26 2010 . kettle foods of salem sold for 615m . oregonlive.com . retrieved february 27 2010 . diamond wraps up acquisition of kettle foods . the oregonian . the oregonian . march 31 2010 . retrieved april 1 2010 . just for retailers from the company s european website and the winner is ... from the company s website dead link our products . kettle foods . retrieved january 25 2012 . kettle chips 30th anniversary our hand cooked chips . kettle foods ltd. retrieved january 25 2012 . our hand cooked chips . kettle foods ltd. retrieved july 1 2013 . external links edit official website kettle foods ltd official european website kettle foods ltd official uk website kettle foods ltd official german website v t e companies based in salem oregon academia.edu cristom vineyards fi linx frank hrubetz & company gilgamesh brewing holiday retirement kettle foods mcgrath s fish house olsendaines oregon bridge delivery partners pizza schmizza portland and western railroad state accident insurance fund vip s willamette valley fruit company yamasa corporation usa retrieved from https en.wikipedia.org w index.php title kettle foods & oldid 743282373 categories brand name snack foodsbrand name potato chips and crispspeanut butter brandssnack food manufacturers of the united statesfood manufacturers of the united statescompanies based in salem oregonbeloit wisconsincompanies based in norwichcompanies established in 1978privately held companies based in oregon1978 establishments in oregonhidden categories all articles with dead external linksarticles with dead external links from september 2016articles with a promotional tone from october 2013all articles with a promotional toneuse mdy dates from january 2012 navigation menu personal tools not logged intalkcontributionscreate accountlog in namespaces article talk variants views read edit view history more search navigation main 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