Hungry Organic Market Yields Strong Sales at Kettle Foods, Prompts Package Redesign.

SALEM, Ore. -- Chip makers at Kettle Foods are working furiously to keep up with truckloads of fresh organic potatoes arriving this fall from the verdant fields of Oregon and Washington, which produce the highest yields in the country.

The natural snack leader will produce more than a million and a half bags of its popular Kettle(TM) brand Organic Potato Chips - a 20 percent increase over last year and the highest volume in the company's history. The potatoes are harvested only once a year, quickly and simply processed -- washed, cut, hand-cooked and seasoned.

This year, to help reach consumers, new packaging will prominently feature the USDA organic certification seal and the Kettle(TM) brand logo, respected for outstanding taste and flavor innovation. The line comes in three 5 ounce bag flavors: Lightly Salted, Sea Salt and Black Pepper, and Chipotle Chili Barbeque, which took first place in Health Magazine's chip category in 2005.

Kettle Foods was the first to introduce a certified all organic potato chip in 1989, five years after launching its all natural Kettle(TM) brand Potato Chips.

"Two decades ago, a lot of people thought we were crazy, but to us going organic made perfect sense," said Michelle Peterman, vice president of marketing. "Why wouldn't people want hand cooked organic potatoes with no artificial stuff? Now organic is all the rage, and we've been here all along doing our thing. It's fun to watch the market catch on to the flavor promise of organic, and now our packaging better reflects it."

Not only are the potatoes organic, so are the healthy expeller pressed oleic sunflower and safflower oils, which are naturally low in saturated fat and cholesterol free, as well as the flavorful spices. It could be why Kettle Foods is recognized by consumers as one of the top five organic brands in the country, according to the Hartman Group.

Organic foods are among the fastest growing category in retail with sales rising 16 percent in 2005 to $13.8 billion and representing 2.5 percent of total U.S. food sales, according to the Organic Trade Association. Sales of organic content chips are growing at twice the rate of natural potato chips with sales up 41 percent for the 12 week period ending Oct. 7, 2006, according to AC Nielsen. Sales of Kettle(TM) brand organic potato chips have kept pace with consumer demand, with annual sales growth exceeding 20 percent.

About Kettle Foods

Founded in 1978, Oregon-based Kettle Foods is a privately owned company committed to producing great tasting, all-natural snacks with a caring commitment to its employees, craft and community. It produces the No. 1 selling natural potato chip in both the U.S. and U.K., with distribution throughout North America, Japan, Guam and Western Europe. Its manufacturing sites in Salem, Ore., and Norwich, United Kingdom produce more than 20 flavors and four varieties of potato chip offerings, seven flavors of organic tortilla chips and a variety of nut butters and trail mixes. Visit www.kettlefoods.com for more information.