*UPCYCLED FOODS USE INGREDIENTS THAT OTHERWISE WOULD NOT HAVE GONE TO HUMAN CONSUMPTION, ARE PROCURED AND PRODUCED USING VERIFIABLE SUPPLY CHAINS, AND HAVE A POSITIVE IMPACT ON THE ENVIRONMENT.”
– THE UPCYCLED FOODS DEFINITION TASK FORCE, SPRING 2020
IT’S NOT EASY BEING UGLY, BUT OUR LACKING IN THE LOOKS DEPARTMENT IS MORE THAN MADE UP FOR IN TASTE!
Uglies® Kettle Chips are crafted from Upcycled* potatoes with slight imperfections—potatoes that are too large or too small; have varied colors or the wrong sugar content. Some of the potatoes are slightly blemished and, of course, some are just farmer surplus. (Hey, just to be clear, the potatoes we use are NOT diseased, rotting or unripe.)
Some of us in the bag may have browner edges and some of us may be darker than kettle chips with less character—but beauty is in the eye of the chip holder!
A little rough around the edges, Uglies are more than a great tastin’ snack…we support farmers, reduce waste and fight hunger!
WE
SUPPORT
FARMERS
THE UGLY TRUTH:
26% OF U.S. PRODUCE GETS DISCARDED FOR COSMETIC REASONS.
AND, EACH YEAR, 6 BILLION POUNDS OF PRODUCE GOES UNHARVESTED OR UNSOLD FOR AESTHETIC REASONS.
Since 1945 the USDA Grades and Standards for Fruits and Vegetables has defined what is “perfect produce” to the fruit, vegetable and specialty crop growers and buyers. Although the standards are voluntary, produce that doesn’t meet these standards gets rejected. We’ve become accustomed to expecting our tomatoes to be perfectly round, our vegetables symmetrical, and our fruit unblemished. These expectations have driven up the costs of produce and created the problem of food waste.
HOW UGLIES HELP:
Uglies Kettle Chips are crafted in small batches using potatoes with slight imperfections that might otherwise be discarded and by making Uglies we’re helping farmers!
We
REDUCE
food waste
THE UGLY TRUTH:
14% OF ALL THE WORLD’S FOOD¹ AND AN ASTONISHING 35% OF ALL FOOD IN THE UNITED STATES² WENT UNSOLD OR UNEATEN IN 2019.
FOOD WASTE IS LANDFILLS’ LARGEST CONTRIBUTOR!
In the U.S. alone, that’s $408 billion worth of food–roughly 2% of the U.S. GDP²–with a greenhouse gas footprint equivalent to 4% of total U.S. GHG emissions². And where does this wasted food end up? Landfills, incineration, down the drain, or left in fields to rot. And wasted food equals wasted resources–food that is produced but not eaten consumes 14% of all freshwater and 18% of cropland². Controlling our food waste is the first step in creating a sustainable food system.
HOW UGLIES HELP:
When it comes to taste and flavor there’s nothing wrong with the potatoes used to make Uglies and by making our delicious kettle chips, we’re reducing waste!
¹ FAO. 2019. The State of Food and Agriculture 2019. Moving forward on food loss and waste reduction. Rome. Licence: CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO.
² ReFED. 2021. Fighting Climate Change by Investing in Food Waste Reduction
WE
FIGHT
HUNGER
THE UGLY TRUTH:
20% OF THE WORLD’S CHILDREN UNDER THE AGE OF 5 ARE UNDERNOURISHED.
IF WE REDUCE OUR FOOD WASTE BY JUST 15%, WE COULD FEED 25 MILLION AMERICANS!
how UGLIES HELP:
10% of all profits of Uglies Kettle Chips are donated to 
, a Pennsylvania charitable organization dedicated to fighting hunger globally.
LEARN MORE AT VIVAKIDS.ORG/UGLIES
18MILLION
Pounds of potatoes saved since 2017.
IMPERFECT BY NATURE
DELICIOUS BY DESIGN!
Imperfect by nature.
Delicious by design!
Our tasty kettle-cooked chips are crafted from potatoes with minor cosmetic imperfections. Impeccable in every other way, they just look a little different than a “perfect” potato.
What makes a potato “ugly?” Some potatoes are too large or too small, some are the wrong color, some are slightly blemished, and some are just farmer surplus. Those orphaned potatoes were destined for the landfill until UGLIES arrived! Since 2017, we’ve saved more than 5,000,000 pounds of potatoes and we think that’s kinda beautiful!
LATEST NEWS!
In 2023, the Pennsylvania Farm Show Gets Ugly!
Everyone is encouraged to attend the 2023 PA Farm Show and visit Booth 2402 in the Giant Expo Hall where you can learn all about sunflowers and their growing importance to PA agriculture and products like Uglies® Kettle Chips.
