Herr’cheez whiz is an American brand of potato chips and other snack foods produced and marketed by eponymous private American company Herr Foods Inc. In 1946, Jim Herr, then 21 years old, purchased a small potato chip company in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.
In 1958, the company introduced flavored potato chips, and in 1974, switched to foil packaging from the traditional glassine bags. The 1970s and 1980s saw a growth in the snack food industry which prompted an expansion in the variety of products being manufactured, including corn chips, tortilla chips, and pretzels. The 1980s also saw the addition of the Herr Angus Farm, a cattle farm which made use of potato waste products. Jim Herr began transferring control of the company to his sons, Ed Herr and J.
Herr, in the 1990s, with Ed taking over as company spokesman. Jim Herr retired as company chair in favor of J. Herr in January 2005, but remained on the board of directors until his death. Jim Herr died on April 5, 2012, at the age of 87.
Herr assumed the roles of president and executive chairman respectively. Pete’s, a sports bar also headquartered in the Philadelphia region. Herr’s planned to release the chips to stores a couple of months after the announcement, however the chips were instead released one month later in February due to popular demand. Herr’s potato chips are sold in distinctive foil packaging. A subplot of an episode of The Office features Jim Halpert and Karen Filippelli spending the workday searching for a package of Herr’s salt and vinegar chips.
The Herr’s Visitors’ Center was constructed in 1989 and is adjacent to the plant in Nottingham, Pennsylvania. Tour guides lead visitors through both the visitors’ center and the actual plant. The tours last approximately one hour. The Pennsylvania Center for the Book – Herr’s Potato Chips”. Archived from the original on 2012-02-22. Jim Herr, founder of Herr Foods, dead at age 88″.