Pipcorn, Spudsy Snack Brands Combine to Form UpSnack Brands

Oct. 30, 2024

Both brands have sold their assets to the newly formed snack company focused on better-for-you and better-for-the-planet snack products.

Andy Hanacek

Snack food brands Pipcorn Heirloom Snacks and Spudsy have announced the sale of their assets to a newly formed snack brand, UpSnack Brands. Spudsy makes snacks from upcycled sweet potatoes, while Pipcorn produces various salty snack products from heirloom corn. According to the announcement, UpSnack now holds “like-minded, high-growth brands dedicated to providing unique better-for-you, sustainably-focused snacks.”

The integration of capabilities from the two brands offers promise for the company’s future to offer a diverse range of snacks that are better for the planet and the consumer. It is expected that the combination will allow further investment in growth of both brands as well as product innovation.

Pipcorn has seen growth spurred by publicity from Oprah Winfrey and the TV show Shark Tank, and the company has continued to develop new products using heirloom corn. Spudsy takes off-spec sweet potatoes that typically would be destined for the waste stream and uses them to create sweet potato fries, poppers, scoops and puffs.

Joe DePetrillo, CEO of Pipcorn, will become the CEO of UpSnack Brands, while Ashley Rogers, founder and former CEO of Spudsy, will transition to a new role as CEO of Sprinkles CPG, which is a portfolio brand of KarpReilly, the private equity partners behind Spudsy.

About the Author

Andy Hanacek | Senior Editor

Andy Hanacek has covered meat, poultry, bakery and snack foods as a B2B editor for nearly 20 years, and has toured hundreds of processing plants and food companies, sharing stories of innovation and technological advancement throughout the food supply chain. In 2018, he won a Folio:Eddie Award for his unique "From the Editor's Desk" video blogs, and he has brought home additional awards from Folio and ASBPE over the years. In addition, Hanacek led the Meat Industry Hall of Fame for several years and was vice president of communications for We R Food Safety, a food safety software and consulting company.