Hardware Podcasts

Kettle Chips: Cameron Healy. The Wild Bet That Made a Brand

How I Built This · 2 Mar 2026 · 1h 00m

What this episode covers

Cameron Healy, founder of Kettle Chips and Kona Brewing, explains how he launched his thick-cut potato chips in the UK before the US, leveraging word-of-mouth and cultural trends to build a $300 million brand. He details the trial-and-error process of hand-frying chips, the critical failure involving rancid oil with Safeway, and the strategic decision to pivot Kona Brewing’s production to the mainland to achieve profitability. Healy also discusses his journey from a communal living experiment in Oregon to scaling Kettle Foods with private equity partner Catterton Partners, culminating in its acquisition by Campbell's.

Most relevant to

early-stage companies and companies scaling up

Topics

Mentioned

Companies
Maui Potato Chip Company, Safeway, Catterton Partners, Lion Capital, Campbell's, Diamond Foods, Snyder's Lance, Derwent Valley Foods
Products
Kettle Chips, Kona Brewing, Phileas Fogg

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