***If you are a fan of potato chips and find yourself in this area, the Herr's factory tour is a must visit***
I was in Philadelphia and I saw a brochure of this factory tour. I was heading down to Baltimore and the Herr's factory was conveniently located along the way so I decided to make a trip since I grew up on Herr's potato chips (Herr's is a very popular brand in the Mid-Atlantic states).
The factory tour is free and it features an incredibly informative and interesting overview of the origins of Herr's as well as how many salty snacks are made and distributed. The factory tour started with a short movie highlighting the humble origins of this potato chip brand. The film was made a while ago so it has a lot of kitsch value (the production values were quite poor). It is an interesting overview covering how the company ran into some issues (such as the factory burning down) as well as the many benefits they extend to their employees (including having a share of the company's profits).
The factory mostly runs by itself. The machines are quite elaborate--peeling the potatoes, slicing the potatoes, putting the potatoes in a water bath to remove the starch, frying the potatoes, performing a photo quality check of the potato chips (and removing undesirable chips), applying the dry seasoning for the various flavors, sorting the chips into bags (big chips in bigger bags, smaller chips in the snack bags you would get at a gas station), and then sealing and packing the bags.
Herr's features many salty snacks and not just potato chips. They have a popcorn machine as well as a really interesting room that puts out their baked pretzels. This Herr's also has a line of tortilla chips and there is a different deep frying process for the tortilla chips to ensure the chips maintain their crispiness and do not go stale too quickly.
The tour also allows you to eat freshly made potato chips that Herr's personnel pull off the line. It is a unique experience given that you get to enjoy hot, crispy and light potato chips (noticeably better than what you would experience with a bag from a grocery store).
In addition to seeing the many great machines, it is interesting learning about the process of how potato chips are made. Very little goes to waste as the starch water finds its way to local farms and potato chips that fall on the floor go on to become feed for animals (though I am not sure if animals meant to be later eaten should be feasting on a lot of potato chips).
How flavors are selected and come together is interesting too. Herr's has a marketing group that comes up with the flavor concepts and then they send out the ideas to companies like Kraft to develop seasoning to match the concept. The Herr's team does some taste testing to finalize which seasoning best resembles the intended flavor.
One of the reasons why the flavor selection is so interesting is due to the many flavors that Herr's showcases. Unlike Lay's or Ruffles, the number of flavors that Herr's features is astounding. There are your standard options like salt and vinegar, sour cream and chives, cheddar, and barbecue, but there are so many other flavors like Old Bay seasoning, dill pickle, cheddar horseradish, baby back ribs, ketchup, Kansas City Prime Steak, hot sauce, red hot, cheddar bacon jalapeno, and buffalo wings.
The tour ends with, of course, an exit to the gift shop as well as a complimentary bag of their kettle potato chips. The gift shop is definitely worth exploring. They have so many varieties of potato chips and many of their flavors are in snack bags so that you can get a lot of flavors without spending too much or wasting too much. They also sell their potato chips that do not make their quality standard; these chips come at a reduced price.
The tour personnel are very good. Our tour guide was very nice and very knowledgeable on all aspects of the Herr's business (she also had an incredible resemblance, both in appearance and voice, to Melissa McCarthy).
Herr's factory tour is a very fun as well as educational experience. The tour is located in a rural area and it is not overly commercial so you get a lot more intimate and inside details than what you would get at a major corporation factory tour. The tour is also free and provides both hot chips off the line as well as a complimentary bag of chips to go. If you find yourself in this area and love potato chips, Herr's is a must visit.
This Herr's factory location has a huge parking lot. The parking lot is free and it is easy finding an open space. read more