Humble Potato Chips has introduced the Canadian snack food industry’s first certified organic potato chips packaged in certified plastic-free, compostable bags. How’s that for environmentally friendly and sustainable?

Owners Alicia and JeffLahey spent 15 years working in the snack food industry, growing increasingly alarmed at the slow adoption of sustainable packaging. When their son was born, they realized they had an opportunity to create an impactful legacy – one that started with offering consumers a seemingly small choice that could lead to global change. As a result, the couple started Humble Snacks, an eco-minded business committed to making a difference in the health of consumers and the planet, without changing the snack buying experience. The couple are on a mission to offer sustainable snacking alternatives while paving the way for other food companies to offer planet-friendly foods and packaging.

Humble Potato Chips are crafted from locally farmed, certified organic potatoes. Light and crispy, they’re traditionally cooked (not kettle cooked) in organic sunflower oil, with skins on to enhance taste and reduce waste. The final product is lightly dusted with organic seasonings, then packaged in certified plastic-free bags made from renewable plant-based materials. The bags are also certified compostable and will break down into non-toxic elements like carbon dioxide, water, and biomass within 90 to 180 days of arriving at the compost facility.

Committed to preserving taste and satisfaction, the brand’s organic potato chip line-up – designed by a Certified Humble Chip Chef – includes family favourites like honey mustard, sea salt and apple cider vinegar, smokey BBQ, and creamy dill. All seasonings are made using natural and organic ingredients, resulting in a flavourful chip that has less sodium and sugars than competitors, and less preservatives/chemicals that factory produced brands.

TASTE TEST

So how do they stack up against other snack products on the market? Hands down, they are the winner when it comes to conscious packaging and production. As for the taste, again they come out on top of other snack producers. First off, although the list of ingredients has more for a product than I typically purchase, they are mostly organic, with the “natural flavours” and “citric acid” listed toward the end. The “flavoured” chips are crispy and clean tasting, and not overly salty, however as a non-salt/sugar type person, I always go for the “original” style. Their “Original” has only three ingredients – organic potatoes, organic sunflower oil, and sea salt.  Using these with your own dips, such as roasted red pepper or hummus, make for a certified healthy and conscience free snack option. Overall, it’s both thumbs up for Humble Potato Chips, offering both great taste and a great feeling that you’re doing something to help the environment as well.

“Our humble goal is to provide consumers with the option to choose perishable food in perishable packaging. If enough people start making that choice, we can make a dramatic difference, one snack bag at a time,” said co-founder, Alicia Lahey. “Plus, if Humble starts the ball rolling, others in the packaged food industry, as well as regulators and waste management operators, might be willing to follow suit. And that will create a snowball effect, inspiring people to make sustainable, healthful choices every day, for the planet and for the future of our children.”

Humble Potato Chips is the first brand of Humble Snacks. The chips are available for purchase in grocery stores across Canada, including Whole Foods, Longos,  as well as online stores like Spud.ca and Well.ca. Beyond the great taste, remember that Humble Potato Chips uses only locally farmed, organic potatoes, with all packaging being Plastic Free and certified compostable. The chips are certified organic, gluten-free, kosher, and vegetarian. Even their packing peanuts are biodegradable, made from plant-based corn starch, and will dissolve in water. Seriously, why would you buy any other brand?

Visit the website for more information.

 

About the Author

Bryen Dunn is a freelance journalist based in Toronto with a focus on tourism, lifestyle, entertainment and community issues. He has written several travel articles and has an extensive portfolio of celebrity interviews with musicians, actors and other public personalities. He’s willing to take on any assignments of interest, attend parties with free booze, listen to rants, and travel the world in search of the great unknown. He’s eager to discover the new, remember the past, and look into the future.