Pringles is a popular potato and rice flavored snack manufactured and marketed by a global manufacturing corporation, Procter and Gamble. Pringles is sold in more than 140 countries around the world and generates annual revenues of more than $1 billion. Pringles come in a distinctive aluminum-coated can. The brand’s logo depicts a character sporting a large bushy mustache and is prominently displayed. Standard flavors are Original, Cheese, Barbecue, Hot & Spicy, Sour Cream & Onion, and Cheese & Onion.

French fries are a fairly new culinary invention. An American chef, George Speck, invented them in New York in 1853. Salty chips were sold by restaurants and pretzel companies as snacks at the turn of the century. A mechanical potato peeler was invented in the 1920s. Before that, French fries were peeled by hand. Nationwide sales of potato chips occurred in the 1930s and were common on store shelves after World War II.

Alexander Liepa, who was an American working for the US Army, invented a potato chip that is not peeled or cut and is made from potato flakes. The idea was to create a snack that could be easily prepared on remote bases in the US Liepa took his patent to Procter & Gamble in 1968 that supported his recipe. This resulted in the creation of a product called Pringle’s Novelty Fries.

P&G workers have mentioned that the name Pringles was chosen because of its similarity to a street named Pringle Street in Finneytown, Ohio. This was because the name was attractive. P&G’s marketing staff believed they would have no problem introducing Pringles since the name was easy to pronounce and remember.

To produce Pringles, new machinery and techniques were required that involved mixing rice flour, potato flakes, water, and other ingredients. When a soft dough is made, it is cut into thin round pieces, placed on baking sheets, and then very quickly fried in a machine. Seasoning is also added quickly before the fries are sent to a stacking machine that packages the fries into distinctive Pringles containers.

The distinctive can used for Pringles packaging is specially designed. Pringle chips are not like regular chips and are very delicate. They can be easily crushed, so a special container is needed to store them. Fredric Baur, who worked in P&G’s food storage department, had the idea to develop a container. He designed a foil-lined can made by rolling pieces of cardboard into a cylindrical tube. This protected the tiles that are stacked. The aluminum foil on the can prevents air from getting inside keeping the fries fresh.

At first, Pringles were only sold in select regions near Cincinnati. However, potato chips were marketed globally in 1976. Pringles have a unique flavor that is less strong than regular potato chips. Market research by P&G suggests that this made Pringles potato chips much easier to eat. The recipe for Pringles potato chips puts the snack in a different tax bracket than regular potato chips.