The History of Ruffles Potato Chips

Ruffles potato chips were created by Bernhardt Stahmer. After spending a significant amount of time and resources to create his potato chips, Stahmer applied for a patent on his "sliced, corrugated potato products.” In his patent application, which he filed in 1955 and was approved in November 1956, he explained that he sliced his potatoes in a specific way that allowed him to achieve their distinctive flavor — namely, that his chips were unique among existing offerings because they tasted cheesy despite the fact that no cheese flavor had been added to them. Shortly after he began to sell them under the name Ruffles, Charles Elmer Doolin of the Frito Company took notice of Stahmer's unique chips and purchased the trademark for them in 1958. In 1961, C.E. Doolin and H.W. Lay formed the Frito-Lay Company, which continued to produce Ruffles. Then a few years later, in 1965, the Pepsi-Cola Company merged with Frito-Lay to form Pepsi Co. This allowed Ruffles to expand distribution outside of North America for the first time. Interestingly, Ruffles have not changed much since Stahmer first created them in the early 1950s; the only notable difference is the depth of their ridges. And of course, as Ruffles became more popular over time, more flavors were introduced. Today, Ruffles remain popular and fans can enjoy a variety of flavors including Original, Sour Cream & Onion, Flamin' Hot, and even Lime & Jalapeño, a special flavor developed in partnership with NBA All-Star Anthony Davis.