What are UGLIES?

UGLIES® Kettle Cooked Potato Chips are chips crafted from potatoes with minor cosmetic imperfections. This includes potatoes that are too large or too small; those with the wrong color or have the wrong sugar content. Some of the potatoes are slightly blemished and, of course, some are just farmer surplus. Until now, these orphaned potatoes were destined to become food waste. UGLIES has helped to reduce food waste by saving over 4,200,000 pounds of potatoes since 2017.

Just to be clear, the potatoes we use are NOT diseased, rotting or unripe.

"Cosmetic Imperfections"?

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.

Wasted Food - landfills' largest component.

Americans throw out uneaten food averaging $165 billion each year and spend another 750 million dollars a year to dispose of it. This wasted food ends up rotting in landfills and is the single largest component of U.S. municipal solid waste, accounting for a large portion of methane emissions. Since 1974, U.S. food waste has risen 50%. Controlling our food waste is the first step in creating a sustainable food system.

Always Ugly. Always Delicious.

By working with regional farmers, Dieffenbach's is offering a solution to part of the problem. We purchase and process potatoes with slight cosmetic imperfections and farmer's surplus for our UGLIES brand.

Kettle cooked in small batches, UGLIES Chips are manufactured on-site in our own plant, using our fresh, custom seasonings. They're also gluten free and Kosher certified. Join the revolution - EAT UGLY!