History
Snyder's-Lance History
On July 22, 2010 Snyder's of Hanover and Lance, Inc. announced a merger of equals creating a stronger national snack food company. This combination creates an industry leader with a broad product portfolio including iconic pretzel, sandwich cracker, and potato chip brands.
Our company has a well-established portfolio of snack food brands that includes Snyder's of Hanover®, Lance®, Cape Cod®, Grande®, Tom's®, Jays®, O-Ke-Doke®, Stella D'oro®, Krunchers!®, Archway®, EatSmart Naturals® as well as Lance Private Brands, a leader in private label cookies and crackers. Products include pretzels, sandwich crackers, potato chips, cookies, tortilla chips and nuts. Snyder's-Lance is publicly traded under the LNCE symbol. With more than 7,000 dedicated associates and over $1.6 billion in annual sales, Snyder's-Lance, Inc. is uniquely positioned to become the premier provider of consumer-preferred, niche snack food brands and snack food solutions internationally.
Snyder's of Hanover History
The Snyder's of Hanover tradition of good taste dates back to 1909 when Harry V. Warehime, founder of Hanover Canning Company, Snyder's of Hanover's parent company until 1980, began producing OldeTyme Pretzels for the Hanover Pretzel Company.
In the 1920's, Grandma Eda and Edward Snyder II began frying potato chips in a kettle at their home on Centennial Avenue during the summer months and peddling the home cooked snack door-to-door and to fairs and farmers' markets.
William V. Snyder started modernizing the company in 1940 with the construction of a new plant on Lafayette and Granger Streets in Hanover, PA. To extend the shelf life of his product for these distant markets, William began to use aluminum foil bags, becoming the first chipper to implement this creative, yet practical innovation. Eleven years later, William's son, William "Billy" L. Snyder, sold the Hanover plant to Hanover Canning, headed by Alan R. Warehime. Sales in 1961 were about $400,000.
In 1963, the Bechtel Pretzel Company, founded by Bill and Helen Bechtel in 1947, was purchased and incorporated into Snyder's Bakery. Bill developed the original recipe for the Sourdough Hard Pretzel that is still enjoyed by consumers today.
In 1980, nineteen years after Snyder's was purchased, the Warehime family decided to "spin off" Snyder's of Hanover Snack Operation from Hanover Brands, enabling the companies to focus on their respective industries of snacks and vegetables. Snyder's sales in 1980 were $15.8 million. After the split, both companies exploded, growing faster than industry averages.
Snyder's of Hanover continued to expand rapidly through the 2000s. The newest plant, located in Goodyear, Arizona, was built in 1998 and was expanded in 2006 to nearly double its original size. The Snyder's of Hanover support center building, also opened in 1998, doubled in size in 2007.
The Snyder's of Hanover flagship Hanover pretzel bakery was built originally as a distribution center in the 1980's with tortilla and potato chip production added later.Today, the Hanover plant is over 400,000 square feet and includes product processing, packaging, and warehousing, as well as, a large research and development laboratory.
Krunchers! Kettle Chips, O-Ke-Doke popcorn, and Jays Potato Chips were added to the Snyder's portfolio in late 2007 upon the acquisition of Chicago based Jays Foods and the former Wyandot, Select Snacks production plant in Jeffersonville, IN that was renamed Krunchers!
From our humble beginnings to our position today as the leader of the pretzel industry and a major player in the snack food industry, we celebrate the efforts and innovations of our predecessors and their families and eagerly anticipate many more years of pretzel pride as we continue to be America's favorite pretzel.
Lance History
The story of Lance begins in 1913 when Philip L. Lance, a food broker in Charlotte, North Carolina obtained 500 pounds of raw peanuts for a customer. When the customer backed out of the deal, Mr. Lance was stuck with the order of unwanted peanuts. Rather than return the order, Mr. Lance kept the peanuts and began roasting them and selling them on the streets of Charlotte for a nickel a bag.
Mr. Lance was later joined in business by his son-in-law, S.A. Van Every, and together they formed Lance Packing Company. Mr. Lance's wife and daughter added to the product line when they came up with an idea for a peanut butter sandwich cracker. It is believed that this was the first such combination sandwich cracker offered for sale.
The Company, which incorporated in 1926, continued to grow as better methods of preparing peanuts and making peanut butter candy were developed. In 1935, Lance reached its first million dollars in sales. By 1939 this had grown to two million. That same year, the Company's name was changed to Lance, Inc.
By 1960, annual sales volume had grown to twenty-six million dollars and the Charlotte, NC plant was operating at full capacity. This led to the construction of a new bakery in Charlotte the following year. Also in 1961 the decision was made to offer shares of Lance, Inc. common stock for public sale.
In 1979, Lance greatly expanded its product offerings with the acquisition of Midwest Biscuit Company in Burlington, Iowa. Midwest, the predecessor to Vista Bakery and Lance Private Brands, gave Lance a solid foothold in the rapidly growing private label cookie and cracker market.
Lance continued to grow throughout the 1980's and 1990's and in 1999 made two acquisitions, Cape Cod Potato Chip Company and Tamming Foods. Tamming, based in Ontario, Canada, is a manufacturer of private label sugar wafers. Cape Cod is one of the nation's leaders in kettle-cooked potato chips. Sales of Cape Cod snack products grew rapidly as Lance leveraged the power of its company-owned direct-store-delivery system to increase distribution.
Since 2005, Lance experienced rapid revenue growth as the Company augmented organic growth with a series of strategic acquisitions. In 2005, Lance acquired the assets of Tom's Foods, a well-established company with a product line and distribution system very similar to Lance's. In 2008, Lance acquired Brent and Sam's Inc., a manufacturer of premium private label cookies. That same year the company acquired the Archway bakery in Ashland, Ohio. With Archway, Lance was able to add a well-known brand of cookies to its snack portfolio and increase its presence in the supermarket trade channel. In late 2009, Lance acquired the Stella D'oro brand. Stella D'oro is well-known in the Northeast and offers consumer a number of lightly sweet Italian-style cookies.
The Lance story spans almost a century and grew from a one man operation to a large national Company. Since its establishment, Lance earned a loyal consumer demand that allowed the company to innovate and grow. Lance advanced into a position as a leader in the snack food industry and developed innovative products and expanded its manufacturing facilities, while maintaining its foundational values.