This article appears as the cover feature in the August 2021 issue of Potato Grower.
In 1904, an intrepid teenager named Heber Clarence Robinson left his family’s home in Utah looking for an adventure. Eventually, that adventure led him to settle in near the tiny settlement of Newdale, Idaho, in the shadow of the famed Teton Range. He started farming in the area shortly thereafter, and some of his descendants still farm and grow Idaho’s famous potatoes there today.
But right now we’re going to talk about a different branch of the Robinson family tree—a branch that maintains that pioneering spirit and embraces its agricultural roots despite not being directly involved in potato farming.
Brothers Kyle and Marc Nehring (Robinson’s great-grandsons) were in the Midwest to parents who instilled in their kids a deep appreciation for a properly prepared potato.
“My mom always tried to cook the potatoes out there and was always frustrated that she could never get a good mashed potato,” says Kyle. “There are a lot of good red potatoes and a strong chipping potato sector in the Midwest, but Mom always complained that she could never cook them right. So she’d buy Idaho potatoes.”
Kyle attended Brigham Young University-Idaho, studying business and entrepreneurship just a stone’s throw away from his great-granddad’s original farm. During his studies, he discussed with one of his professors the impressive reach of the Idaho potato brand and wondered about the dearth of chips utilizing that brand.
“I don’t remember where the original idea came from,” Kyle says. “But Idaho has this amazing brand; the potatoes are fantastic. I had to wonder, why didn’t somebody make a chip using Idaho potatoes?”
In 2017, Kyle and Marc took the dive and formed Teton Valley Brands, so named as a nod to the family’s eastern Idaho roots. Before they could come up with their own recipe and process, they needed to know whether the vision they had would work as a viable business. The only company they could find capable of turning Idaho russets into chips was in Missouri, so they began shipping potatoes from Idaho to that facility, and shipping the chips back west.
“That process obviously wasn’t sustainable long-term for us,” Kyle says. “But we needed to prove: Would these sell with this brand we were trying to develop?”
The answer, so far, has been yes. Marc has since chosen to pursue other career opportunities, but Kyle and their father, Rod, are carrying the business forward. Production started in earnest in July 2020. They now have their own manufacturing and packaging facility in Nampa, Idaho. After considerable trial and error, they have hit on a recipe and process they feel maintains the integrity of what they call “that real Idaho potato flavor.” That flavor comes from russets purchased mostly from fresh-pack sheds in southern Idaho; Colorado-grown expeller-pressed sunflower oil; and unrefined salt from Utah.
“We wanted to create a product that was not only high-end, but you knew exactly what was in it,” says Kyle.
“The russets we use are very tricky to turn into a potato chip,” he continues. “For example, you’ve got a long potato instead of a round one. You’ve got different sugar levels. And we’re pulling from the fresh market, which brings different challenges. If you look at anything related to that first end of the production line, we basically do it different from the rest of the chipping industry.”
As for the brand? Well, every bag of kettle-cooked Teton Valley chips screams two things: Idaho and potatoes. The front of each bag features a huge, gorgeous potato. The back, depending on the flavor, highlights a different Idaho landmark: Hells Canyon, Lake Coeur d’Alene, the Sawtooth Mountains, and, of course, the Teton Range. Each package is stamped with the location those particular potatoes were grown. And, in perhaps the most delicious little detail, each barcode is in the shape of the state of Idaho.
“The whole idea,” says Rod, “is to give people an Idaho experience. And it really seems to be grabbing hold.”
Indeed it does. Teton Valley chips can be found in several regional grocery stores in southern Idaho. A contract with C-A-L Ranch has them in stores across Idaho, Utah, Arizona and Nevada. Recently, the chips made their initial foray into area Walmart stores.
“We’ve gained a lot of knowledge these last few years,” says Kyle. “It’s really been an adventure, and it will probably continue to be rocky but rewarding. But it definitely took a leap of faith to get here.”
“That’s the case with any entrepreneurship,” Rod agrees. “You get an idea, you get a vision, and you might end up losing. But the learning that comes along the way is invaluable.”