Seyfert's Potato Chips

by Seyfert's

1934 – 2018 GONE FOREVER

Gone. Seyfert's announced on August 20, 2018, exactly 84 years after it opened, that it was no longer profitable and had found no buyer. A 2024 trademark application for an "Old Seyfert Foods" company was abandoned in 2025, and no chips ever shipped.

Last verified Nov 2, 2026

Fort Wayne's hometown potato chip, fried for 84 years and sold under the slogan "Seyfert's Snackin'! It's Lip Smackin'!" It outlasted three changes of owner, then ran out of money and buyers in the summer of 2018.

🧾 One more thingIn 1987 the company's "Potato Chip Lady," Myrtle Young, showed off her collection of oddly shaped chips on The Tonight Show. The chips Johnny Carson had on hand were Seyfert's.

Filed under: Snacks & Chips · the ’70s & earlier

🎲 Remember another one 🛒 Test your memory

📅 Timeline

1934Charles Seyfert opened his potato chip company in Fort Wayne, Indiana, on August 20, after first trying a pretzel business.
1982Borden bought Seyfert's.
1987Seyfert's "Potato Chip Lady," Myrtle Young, appeared on The Tonight Show with her collection of oddly shaped chips.
1994Heath Acquisition Corp. bought the company from Borden.
2001Troyer Potato Products took over Seyfert's in March.
2018On August 20, the company said it was no longer profitable and would close; workers got one week's pay for each year of service.

❓ People also ask

Why did Seyfert's go out of business?

The company said it was no longer profitable and that it had tried and failed to find a buyer. It announced the closure on August 20, 2018, 84 years to the day after it opened.

Is anyone bringing Seyfert's chips back?

Nothing has shipped. A trademark application for "The Old Seyfert Foods Company" was filed for potato chips in August 2024, but it never claimed any actual use and was abandoned in May 2025.

Who owned Seyfert's?

The founding family until Borden bought it in 1982, then Heath Acquisition Corp. from 1994 and Troyer Potato Products from 2001 until the 2018 closure.

🧾 Sources

Food Business News, Indiana snacks maker to cease operations (2018)
The Takeout, Farewell, beloved Midwestern potato chips Seyfert's, we hardly knew ye (2018)
WPTA 21Alive, This Day in History: August 20, 1934: Seyfert's potato chip company opens in Fort Wayne (2025)
Just Food, US potato chip maker Seyfert's to close - reports (2018)

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