By ROBIN SHANNON

L’Observateur

 

GRAMERCY – The manufacturer of Zapp’s Potato Chips has agreed to combine with a Pennsylvania snack food company in an effort to spread the Louisiana brand to a wider audience.

Specifics of the deal between Zappe Endeavors LLC and Utz Quality Foods Inc. is not immediately known, but Zapp’s general manager Rod Olsen said the Hanover, Pennsylvania company is the largest independently held snack food company in the country.

“It’s good news all around,” Olsen said. “You can be assured that Zapp’s is sticking around and will have a presence in Gramercy.”

According to a release from Zapp’s, the deal is slated to close in the first quarter of 2011. The combined endeavor between the snack food companies is anticipated to have an increased affect on sales, distribution and employment for the two family-owned companies.

Olsen would not say whether the deal was a “merger of equals.” Pre-merger, Zapp’s employed 100 in Louisiana, 50 in California and plans for another 30-50 in Pennsylvania. Utz, meanwhile, employs more than 2,400 in four facilities in Pennsylvania.

Representatives for Utz could not be reached for comment.

L’Observateur will update this story as more information is released.