HANOVER, Penn. – The Utz potato chip, and Utz Brands Inc. snack company, is celebrating 100 years. The brand dates from 1921, when William and Sally Utz started making potato chips in their house. The Utz girl has remained mostly unchanged over the decades, and was reportedly designed by aMORE HERE
VERONA, Penn. – A good summer drink for kids has water, color, sugar and some sort of taste. Make it cheap, and slightly clever, and you have the perennial bestselling summer treat, the Little Hug Fruit Barrel. The Little Hug debuted in 1974, when Watergate was the issue, and overtlyMORE HERE
The company is the nation’s best known name in box fans, producing over 7.5 million each year. The company makes the fans domestically, though parts are from overseas.MORE HERE
PEACH GLEN, Penn. – Supporting local farmers is often seen as finding fresh, local produce, or visiting a locavore restaurant. But there are easier ways to change the food process. Buy American, and buy from co-ops and smaller suppliers in the center aisles, with prepared and canned foods. Lucky Leaf,MORE HERE
A candy that is first candy, and then gum, is a special kind of Wonka-like experience. Not Wonka-like because of its provenance, but because of its ambition. Razzles are not only sweets and taste, but technology and sensation. Something happens. They do something. They are sort of transformative, in theMORE HERE
PITTSBURGH – Because many downtown department stores have failed under the current model of Macy’s, there is a misunderstanding of what a department store is, and whether a department store is a valid idea. Currently, the idea of a department store is a massive, massive clothing and accessories store, withMORE HERE
WEST CONSHOHOCKEN – The Ritz cloth brand was originally founded in 1892 by the John Ritzenthaler Company. This lower Manhattan (aren’t so many great brands founded there?), was started by John Ritzenthaler, a German immigrant, who gave the products the name Ritz Cloths. Cheese cloth is one of those productsMORE HERE