UTZ Quality Foods SUCK for taking over the Golden Flake Chips Company, then taking Golden Flake Chips off shelves in stores and putting their inferior chips in the same place Golden Flake Chips used to be.

 

In my opinion, Golden Flake Sweet Heat Barbecue Chips are the best I’ve ever tasted. I used to buy them at the Dollar General, Win Dixie, Walmarts and Publix here in Florida.

In 2020, I noticed Golden Flake chips were no longer in any of the stores I used to buy them and UTZ chips were in the location where Golden Flake chips used to be. I decided to try some of the UTZ chips hoping they would taste like the Golden Chips and THEY DIDN’T!

I also didn’t like how the only size I could find in Dollar General and Harvey’s was a large family size which was a lot more expensive than the $1.99 I used to pay for Golden Flake Sweet Heat Barbecue Chips I liked so much.

I decided to look on the internet to see if I could buy some that way. I found this listing of Amazon where they were being sold at inflated prices – amazon.com/Golden-Flake-Sweet-Crispy-Potato/dp/B005NS19K4

 

I found this listing of them being sold on ebay for $33.99!

 

Golden Flake – Wikipedia

Golden Flake Snack Foods, is a producer of potato chips, tortilla chips, corn chips, cheese curls, fried pork skins, and other snack foods in the southern United States. It is now part of Utz Quality Foods. The Golden Flake brand (originally known as Magic City Foods) was established in the 1920s by Mose Lischkoff and Frank Mosher in a Birmingham, Alabama, grocery store basement.

According to Wikipedia; “On July 19, 2016, Golden Flake announced that it was being acquired by Utz for $12.00 per share in cash, representing a 71% premium over the average 30 day trading price of $7.00”

UTZ has bought out and owns many brands, such as Zapp’s, Dirty Potato Chips, TG Fridays (potato chips), Bachmanm, Good Health, Boulder Canyon, Tortiyahs and Snikiddy.

 

And speaking of Zapp’s, I also noticed Zapps Jalapeno Chips have disappeared from store shelves.

 

Utz’s new bosses speed growth with debt, mergers, cuts

Utz Quality Foods LLC is accelerating its push to become one of the giants in the potato chips-pretzels-crackers business, where national rivals such as Pepsico’s Frito-Lay and Snyder’s-Lance have been buying up local plants, consolidating brands, and streamlining distribution to cut labor and boost profits.

 

According to the above article; “Utz Quality Foods LLC is accelerating its push to become one of the giants in the potato chips-pretzels-crackers business, where national rivals such as Pepsico’s Frito-Lay and Snyder’s-Lance have been buying up local plants, consolidating brands, and streamlining distribution to cut labor and boost profits.

Privately held Utz, based in Hanover, Pa., is controlled by members of the Rice family. Last week, the company told investors that it plans to borrow $660 million, including $300 million to buy out its private-equity investors and $165 million to acquire publicly traded salty-snacks maker Inventure Foods Inc., as well as for refinancing and other expenses, according to a report by analyst Bea Chiem at S&P Global Ratings, the credit-rating agency.

Utz calls itself “the largest privately held and family-managed salty-snack company in the U.S.,” with brands including Zapp’s, Bachman, Dirty, Golden Flake, Good Health, Jax, Snikiddy, Wachusett and Zapp’s, made at plants in Alabama, Colorado, Louisiana and Massachusetts, along with Pennsylvania”.

After reading the above article how Utz Quality Foods LLC is accelerating its push to become one of the “giants in the potato chips-pretzels-crackers business”, it’s clear they are putting profits and ambition over consumers and destroying companies and what was great products and companies in the process.

 

Utz finishes purchase of Golden Flake

Golden Flake’s sale is complete, and the iconic Birmingham brand is no longer Birmingham-owned. Hanover, Pennsylvania-based Utz Quality Foods announced in July it had entered into an agreement with Golden Enterprises, Golden Flake’s parent company, to purchase the chip maker in a $141 million transaction. The transaction is now complete.

According to an article about the sale / purchase of Golden Flake Chips;  “This merger will allow the Golden Flake brand to continue to grow in our core southeastern markets, while expanding the product selections for our consumers,” Golden Flake’s CEO Mark McCutcheon said in a press release. “Utz is a very community oriented company, and we look forward to the future that Utz and Golden Flake will create together.”

 

Golden Flake, an iconic Alabama brand, is being sold in a jaw-dropping $141 million deal – Yellowhammer News

Golden Flake will have a new owner but officials said to expect little else to change with the iconic Southern brand. Utz Quality Foods Inc. said today it is purchasing Golden Enterprises, the maker of Golden Flake snack foods, for $141 million, including $7 million in debt.

Well, that’s NOT what has happened. The sale of Golden Flake to UTZ has made it so Golden Flake chips are NO WHERE to be found in stores. It’s clear this purchase was to purchase shelf space so people would have no choice other than to have to buy their SHITTY, inferior chips.

UTZ has pissed off a lot of people like me who want Golden Flake products back in stores. To buy some of these chips, I had to go to UTZ’s website and spend $45 to purchase a box of 18 bags of Golden Flake Sweet Heat Barbecue Chips due to them not being in any of the stores in my area, SO I’M PISSED!

Capitalism Gone Amuck

This is another example of Capitalism gone amuck… similar to how Dean Foods bought up brands of Dairy Products all over the United States and made “Tru Moo” the only Chocolate Milk you can buy in most stores. This caused a tremendous loss of jobs all over the United States and destroyed great products, similar to what UTZ is doing to the snack food industry. You can read my article about Dean Foods here…

I’m a strong believer in the concept of “One person can change the World” so I take action to change things I don’t like and SPEAK OUT. I’m not afraid of anything or anyone.

Some of my recent achievements was getting those annoying Choice Hotel “Budda Book” ads and the 2019 Infiniti QX50 Commercial with annoying HICK music by the Tallest Man pulled off of every TV Network in the United States.

To get Golden Chips put back on shelves, I created a petition and will be promoting it on Facebook. I’m also creating a Video which will be running on YouTube to bring attention to this matter. The video will come up on page one when anyone searches for UTZ Chips, Golden Flake Chips or Zapps Jalapeno Chips (I’m a Internet Marketer and SEO who knows how to get stuff on page 1 of the search engines).

If UTZ really wants to become a respected giant in the snack industry, they should be promoting ALL of the products they purchased and make sure all is carried in stores.

If you currently work for UTZ Quality Foods or used to work for any of the companies they bought out and have info you’d like to share such as working conditions, jobs lost as a result of UTZ buying up all of the companies they’ve bought, please contact me and let me know about it.

If this turns into a big story, I’ll be letting the National News Media know about it.

PETITION:

Sign the Petition

Golden Flake Chips Sweet Heat Barbecue Chips were in my opinion, some of the best Barbecue Chips I ever tasted. A few months ago, I noticed they were no where to be found at stores I used to buy them from, like Dollar General, Publix, Win Dixie and Walmart.

Also, call them and tell them what you think. Here’s their contact page; utzsnacks.com/pages/general-inquiries

 

Review | We tried 13 popular potato chip brands, and our top and bottom picks might just surprise you

In advice columnist Judith Martin’s book, “Miss Manners’ Guide to Excruciatingly Correct Behavior,” a reader asks: “What is the proper way to eat potato chips?” Miss Manners replied: “Gentle Reader: With a knife and fork. A fruit knife and an oyster fork, to be specific. For pity’s sake, what is this world coming to?

UTZ CHIPS RANKS AT THE BOTTOM OF THE WASHINGTON POST 13 POPULAR POTATO CHIP BRANDS REVIEW! 

Per the above article; “13. Utz Score: 7.2 Ohhhh, boy. This is going to cause some trouble, isn’t it? Utz is a beloved brand. But in a blind taste test, the thin and crumbly chip really fell short compared with the others. “Is this even made from potatoes? Thin as they are, they coat the mouth, unpleasantly. There’s a nice taste to the oil, though,” one taster said. “No taste. Does this chip even exist? Or was it a figment of my imagination?” another said. With its “medium salt level” and “powdery texture,” tasters had “nothing to recommend.” “Gag! I want to give this zero.” “No amount of salt balance will fix it.” “This is a potato cracker, not a potato chip.”

The only statement I take issue with in the above review is; “Utz is a beloved brand” NOPE! Never heard of ’em until they bought out MY favorite chips… Golden Flake.

UTZ SUCKS (AND SO DOES THEIR RETARDED COMPANY LOGO)

 

1 Golden Flake Dr
Mark W McCutcheon
Chairman/President/CEO, Golden Enterprises Inc
Birmingham, AL, 35205-3312 United States
goldenflake.com
Company Type: Corporation Subsidiary
(205) 458-7316

Hey Mr. McCutcheon,

You stated in an article “This merger will allow the Golden Flake brand to continue to grow in our core southeastern markets, while expanding the product selections for our consumers.”

That’s NOT what has happened. The sale of Golden Flake to UTZ has made it so Golden Flake chips are NO WHERE to be found in stores.

You really SCREWED over your customers. Hope your enjoying all that money you got out of the deal. (not really)

 

Potato chip heiress wins back control of fortune

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) – The heiress to the Golden Flake potato chip empire is for now back in control of her fortune after a ruling by the Alabama Supreme Court. The court voided a 2019 probate order granting an emergency conservator that came after two employees claimed that 88-year-old Joann Bashinsky has dementia and is mentally unfit to handle her vast estate.

Per the above article; “The heiress to the Golden Flake potato chip empire is for now back in control of her fortune after a ruling by the Alabama Supreme Court.

The court voided a 2019 probate order granting an emergency conservator that came after two employees claimed that 88-year-old Joann Bashinsky has dementia and is mentally unfit to handle her vast estate.

Joann Bashinsky is the widow of Sloan Y. Bashinsky, Sr. who owned the majority stock in Golden Enterprises, Inc. Justices said Bashinsky’s basic due-process rights, were egregiously violated when the probate court made the emergency decision without giving her time to obtain counsel”.

 

1/24/2021 UPDATE: UTZ Discontinues Husman’s snack line, a Cincinnati favorite for more than a century

Utz discontinues Husman’s snack line, a Cincinnati favorite for more than a century

CINCINNATI – Utz Quality Foods will discontinue its Husman’s snack line, beloved by Cincinnatians for more than a century, the company confirmed to WCPO Friday night. “After considering retailer feedback and consumer demand, we recently made the difficult decision to discontinue the Husman’s brand,” an Utz spokesperson said.

I just came across this article titled: UTZ Discontinues Husman’s snack line, a Cincinnati favorite for more than a century“.

This just adds more reasons to DESPISE UTZ because I’m from Cincinnati and grew up loving Husman’s Potato Chips. Buying Husman’s, then eliminating their products so they can put their SHITTY UTZ chips in their place is Corporate GREED and Capitalism Gone Amuck.

 

#Boycott UTZ!

 

 

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