Husman’s snack meals, first made in Cincinnati 100 years in the past, on the way in which out

“When the fries are up, make sure it’s Husman’s, Husman’s potato chips!”

People who have long loved the snack at the center of this legendary Cincinnati jingle will no longer be able to answer its happy call.

The news that the Husman’s Snack Foods Co. brand is being discontinued by its new maker is a blow to Queen City’s taste buds and pride.

That’s because the Husman’s brand was born in Cincinnati more than a century ago when a 24-year-old paper bag seller named Harry Husman founded Husman Potato Products Co. in 1919 and started making potato chips in his Laurel Street home.

Husman lifted sacks of spuds into a kitchen on the second floor by tying a rope to the bumper of his car. Then the potatoes were hand cut into fries, which were fried in large kettles.

This would develop into a process where Husman’s chips would be mechanically cleaned, peeled, sliced, blown dry, and fried to an even, golden crispness in two to three minutes.

Cheese snacks, pretzels and popcorn would eventually join the potato chips, which are manufactured under the new name Husman’s Snack Foods Co.

The manufacturer of the brand has changed over the years. Utz Quality Foods of Hanover, Pennsylvania acquired Husman’s in 2019 and has now decided to stop manufacturing the brand’s snacks.

A Utz spokesperson said in an email to The Enquirer that it was made in Berlin, Pennsylvania, prior to the Husman brand acquisition, and has been sold in Ohio and western Pennsylvania for more than 15 years.

“During this time, the Husman’s brand has steadily declined in an extremely competitive snack category. After considering the feedback from retailers and consumer demand, we recently made the difficult decision to discontinue the Husman brand, ”said the spokesman.

“In particular, this decision has no impact on our workforce. In fact, we have added positions and plan to create more when we start producing new products and introducing other snack brands into our Berlin facility in February 2021. ”

The spokesman said the decision will bring more competitive deals to its sales team for Cincinnati and nearby markets.

“While we understand the disappointment of Husman’s brand fans, we hope they will enjoy our many other high-quality snack food brands such as Snyder of Berlin and Zapps Snacks,” the spokesman said.