Better Made Snack Foods, Inc
Better Made Snack Foods is a privately held, Detroit-based CPG manufacturer founded in 1930 that produces potato chips and adjacent snacks from locally sourced Michigan potatoes, distributing to individual consumers across Michigan and select states via retail, e-commerce, and Amazon.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1930
- HeadquartersDetroit, United States
- Headcount251–500
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingHardware or Manufacturing
What Better Made Snack Foods, Inc does
Better Made Snack Foods, Inc. is a privately held, Detroit-based consumer packaged goods (CPG) manufacturer founded in 1930, operating a single manufacturing facility at 10148 Gratiot Avenue and employing 251–500 people concentrated in the Detroit metropolitan area. The company produces a broad snack portfolio anchored by potato chips (Original, BBQ, Sweet BBQ, Sour Cream & Onion, Salt & Vinegar, Honey BBQ, Krinkle Cut, Wavy, All Dressed Up, and the differentiated Rainbow/Burnt Chip), and extended across potato sticks, kettle chips, pretzels, pork rinds and cracklins, tortilla chips, popcorn, corn puffs, cheese curls, red licorice, and seasonal chocolate-covered chips. Its core production technology relies on locally sourced Michigan potatoes used approximately 10 months per year, with a co-development relationship through Michigan State University's Potato Breeding and Genetics Program (National Chip Program, Professor David Douches) yielding proprietary varieties including bioengineered lines optimized for chip sugar balance at cold storage.
The company monetizes through one-time unit-priced consumer packaged goods sales distributed across three channels: (1) a direct-to-consumer e-commerce storefront at bettermade.com (with Stripe and Plaid payment rails and free shipping over $75); (2) an Amazon marketplace storefront; and (3) physical retail across Michigan — spanning Sault Saint Marie to Tacumseh — and select states. Pricing ranges from $8.99 for seasoning shakers to $66.42 for case quantities, with multi-pack and party-box bundles (e.g., 18-count Variety Snack Packs at $19.98). Customer segmentation is horizontal and consumer-only: individual snackers, party/event planners, and gift-givers purchasing seasonal tins; no enterprise, foodservice, or co-manufacturing customers are disclosed.
The company is independently owned with no parent, no disclosed funding rounds, and no M&A activity. Strategic emphasis is on heritage-brand monetization and measured category extension: the November 2025 launch of Seasoning Shakers moves the brand into home-cooking pantry SKUs; branded merchandise (beanies, hoodies, ornaments, decals, and the Karen Dybis book 'Better Made in Michigan') extends the equity beyond consumables; and the MSU partnership plus Rainbow/Burnt Chip SKU provide defensible, agriculture-rooted differentiation. The business remains regionally concentrated in Michigan and adjacent Midwest geographies, with national reach pursued primarily through Amazon rather than broadline grocery expansion.
Better Made Snack Foods, Inc firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Better Made Snack Foods, Inc
- Legal name
- Better Made Snack Foods, Inc.
- Website
- https://bettermade.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1930
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 251–500 employees
- Short description
- Better Made Snack Foods is a privately held, Detroit-based CPG manufacturer founded in 1930 that produces potato chips and adjacent snacks from locally sourced Michigan potatoes, distributing to individual consumers across Michigan and select states via retail, e-commerce, and Amazon.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Better Made Snack Foods, Inc industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Salty Snack Foods
- NAICS
- Snack Food Manufacturing (31191)
- SIC
- Food And Kindred Products (2000)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Potato & Vegetable Chips Manufacturing (AFAKAIAA)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Chips & Savory Snacks (Potato, Tortilla, Extruded) (CRADABAE)
Keywords
Where Better Made Snack Foods, Inc is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Detroit
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
Better Made Snack Foods, Inc business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Hardware or Manufacturing
- Cost components
- Supply Chain, Operations, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Consumer Packaged Goods Sales: One-time product sales of snack foods including potato chips, pretzels, popcorn, pork rinds, and specialty snacks through e-commerce and retail channels. Products sold in various pack sizes from single-serve bags to multi-pack cases.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Individual snack products ranging from basic chips to specialty items |
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Multi-pack and variety options with bulk discounts |
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Merchandise and branded items |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels4 records
Better Made Snack Foods, Inc product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Better Made Snack Foods manufactures and sells a portfolio of salty and sweet snack foods under its own Better Made brand, with potato chips as the flagship category. The line also includes potato sticks, kettle chips, pretzels, pork rinds and cracklins, tortilla chips, popcorn, corn-based puffs, red licorice, party/assortment boxes, seasonal chocolate-covered chips, and newer seasoning shakers, sold direct-to-consumer via bettermade.com, on Amazon, and through retail stores across Michigan and select states.
Product overview
Better Made Snack Foods is a snack food company that operates as a single-brand consumer packaged goods business rather than a platform. The product portfolio centers on potato chips as the flagship product line, supported by complementary snack categories including potato sticks, kettle chips, pretzels, pork rinds and cracklins, tortilla chips, popcorn, and corn-based snacks. The company has expanded into branded merchandise (apparel, accessories, home goods) and seasonal offerings like chocolate-covered chips. Recently, the company introduced seasoning shakers as a new product category that extends the brand into home cooking. The products are primarily distributed in Michigan and select states, with online sales through their website and Amazon store.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Potato Chips
- Potato Sticks
- Kettle Chips
- Pretzels
- Pork Rinds & Cracklins
- Tortilla Chips
- Popcorn
- Corn Pops & Cheese Puffs
- Seasoning Shakers
- Chocolate-Covered Chips
- Old Fashioned Red Licorice
- Party Boxes & Assortments
- Rainbow Potato Chips (Burnt/Dark Chips)
- Better Made Ornament
Quantifiable outcome
- Approximately one in four bags of U.S. potato chips contains Michigan potatoes
- +1 more outcomes
Companies that use Better Made Snack Foods, Inc
Customer profileNamed customers2 records
Segments3 records
Ideal customer profiles2 records
Better Made Snack Foods, Inc technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration2 records
Feature1 record
Better Made Snack Foods, Inc partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
One partnership is on record.
- Michigan State University - Potato Breeding and Genetics ProgramcoreClose partnership between researchers at Michigan State University led by Professor David Douches and chip companies including Better Made through the National Chip Program. The program evaluates around 225 new potato varieties annually and has developed potato varieties specifically optimized for chip production, including bioengineered varieties that maintain proper sugar balance at colder storage temperatures.
Scale indicators4 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Better Made Snack Foods, Inc competitors and assessment
Company assessmentRegional players
- Bachman Company: Bachman is a heritage snack maker in the Mid-Atlantic/Northeast producing pretzels, chips, and crackers with a similar family-owned/ regional model. It parallels Better Made's heritage-anchored pretzel and chip portfolio.
- Old Dutch Foods: Old Dutch Foods is a regional chip and snack manufacturer with strong loyalty in the Upper Midwest and Canada. Comparable to Better Made as a heritage, family-owned regional chip brand serving adjacent geographies.
- Mike-sell's Snack Food Company: Mike-sell's is a family-owned, regional potato chip maker based in Dayton, Ohio with strong Midwest brand loyalty. It is highly comparable to Better Made as another legacy, mid-western chip manufacturer that has resisted national consolidation.
Direct peers
- Pringles (Kellanova): Pringles is a globally recognized mass-market crisp/ chip brand owned by Kellanova (post-Kellogg's spin). It competes in the same consumer occasions as Better Made's potato chips but at a much larger scale and with a distinctive shelf-stable format.
- Cape Cod Chips: Cape Cod is a kettle-cooked potato chip brand known for regional/quality positioning. It directly competes with Better Made's kettle chip line and shares a similar mid-scale, premium-ingredient value proposition.
- Utz Quality Foods: Utz is a heritage, family-founded salty snack maker that scaled from a regional Pennsylvania chip brand into a national publicly traded platform. It is the closest publicly comparable to Better Made's structure: multi-category salty snacks anchored by potato chips with pretzels, popcorn, and pork rinds.
- Herr Foods: Herr's is a privately held, family-owned regional snack maker based in Pennsylvania with a portfolio of chips, pretzels, popcorn, and cheese curls — closely paralleling Better Made's structure, geographic model, and multi-category approach.
- Snyder's of Hanover (Snyder's-Lance): Snyder's of Hanover is a heritage pretzel brand that became a national pretzel-and-snack platform, mirroring Better Made's pretzel line and heritage-brand DNA. Comparable in its evolution from regional craft to broader distribution.
- Kettle Brand (Campbell Soup / Kellanova spinoff-era): Kettle Brand is a premium kettle-cooked potato chip brand with a similar heritage-led, quality positioning that overlaps directly with Better Made's kettle chip and Rainbow/Burnt chip offerings. Both target consumers willing to pay for craft-style, better-ingredient chips.
Broad incumbents
- Frito-Lay (PepsiCo): Frito-Lay is the dominant incumbent in salty snacks (Lay's, Ruffles, Tostitos, Doritos) with unrivaled distribution, marketing, and shelf-space power. It defines the competitive arena in which Better Made operates and against which regional chip makers must differentiate.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Better Made Snack Foods, Inc social profiles
Digital presenceBetter Made Snack Foods, Inc financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Better Made Snack Foods, Inc leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Better Made Snack Foods, Inc funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Better Made Snack Foods, Inc M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Better Made Snack Foods, Inc
What does Better Made Snack Foods, Inc do?
Better Made Snack Foods manufactures and sells a portfolio of salty and sweet snack foods under its own Better Made brand, with potato chips as the flagship category. The line also includes potato sticks, kettle chips, pretzels, pork rinds and cracklins, tortilla chips, popcorn, corn-based puffs, red licorice, party/assortment boxes, seasonal chocolate-covered chips, and newer seasoning shakers, sold direct-to-consumer via bettermade.com, on Amazon, and through retail stores across Michigan and select states.
Is Better Made Snack Foods, Inc a public or private company?
Better Made Snack Foods, Inc is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was Better Made Snack Foods, Inc founded?
Better Made Snack Foods, Inc was founded in 1930. It employs 251 to 500 people.
Where is Better Made Snack Foods, Inc based?
Better Made Snack Foods, Inc is headquartered in Detroit, United States, in the North America region.
How does Better Made Snack Foods, Inc make money?
One revenue line is on record: consumer Packaged Goods Sales.
Who are Better Made Snack Foods, Inc's main competitors?
Regional players on record are Bachman Company, Old Dutch Foods and Mike-sell's Snack Food Company. Direct peers are Pringles (Kellanova), Cape Cod Chips, Utz Quality Foods, Herr Foods, Snyder's of Hanover (Snyder's-Lance) and Kettle Brand (Campbell Soup / Kellanova spinoff-era). Frito-Lay (PepsiCo) is listed as a broad incumbent.
Does Better Made Snack Foods, Inc have an API?
No public API is recorded for Better Made Snack Foods, Inc.
What industry is Better Made Snack Foods, Inc in?
Better Made Snack Foods, Inc's product category is Salty Snack Foods. Its primary akta.pro industry code is AFAKAIAA, Potato & Vegetable Chips Manufacturing, with a secondary code of CRADABAE, Chips & Savory Snacks (Potato, Tortilla, Extruded). Its NAICS code is 31191 and its SIC code is 2000.