Where to find chip thrills in Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania’s pantry is home to plenty of big names, like the chocolatiers in Hershey and the specialty soft pretzel-makers in Hanover, but the commonwealth has a lot more to offer in the snack department. 

Central Pennsylvania alone – concentrated around Lancaster and York – can be considered the snack food capital of the world. 

Whether you call it the Pretzel Belt or the Snack Belt, we all can agree you’ll need to loosen your own belt if you plan on taste testing these top-tier treats. Let us know your favorite – and if we missed any: editor@cityandstatepa.com. 

Gertrude Hawk Chocolates

A fourth generation of chocolatiers is still hard at work almost a century after Gertrude Jones Hawk began making chocolates in her Scranton home in 1936. Gertrude Hawk Chocolates had to move in 1959, when the state Department of Transportation took Gertrude’s home to build an I-81 bridge, and has been operating a factory in Dunmore since 1962. Gertrude was inducted into the Candy Hall of Fame in 2018, and to this day, the family brand continues to make Frango truffles and a variety of sweets. 

Herr’s

Herr’s is one of several Pretzel Belt chip and snack manufacturers with deep commonwealth roots. Originally founded in Lancaster, Herr’s is now headquartered in Nottingham. Their blue-chip snack lineup includes potato chips, pretzels, tortilla chips, cheese curls and popcorn. 

Just Born

Is chocolate not your vice? Just Born has a series of sweets and spices that can make you feel young again. The Bethlehem-based behemoth is known for Peeps marshmallows and candies like Mike & Ike and Hot Tamales; the company’s acquisition of Goldenberg’s in 2003 put the cherished Peanut Chew under the Just Born umbrella. 

Martin’s Snacks

Now known as Martin’s Snacks, the potato chip and roll manufacturer was founded by Harry and Fairy Martin in 1941. Headquartered in Thomasville in York County, Martin’s Snacks was reportedly the bipartisan snack featured on Air Force One during the Bill Clinton and George W. Bush administrations. 

Middleswarth Potato Chips

Founded in 1942 and still run by the Middleswarth family, this Middlesburg brand is known for its oversized, colorful packages of potato chips in a half-dozen flavors. Fans of the snacks take pictures of themselves posing with Middleswarth’s signature bags – on vacation, even the odd engagement photo – and post them on the company’s online fan page.

Snyder’s of Hanover

Among Pennsylvania’s best-known homegrown treats, Snyder’s of Hanover traces its iconic pretzels to a bakery launched in 1909. Its snacks are now sold in markets from California to the Middle East, and while Snyder’s is now owned by Campbell, those pretzels have made Hanover famous across the globe.

Tasty Baking Company

Treat talk must pay tribute to Tastykake. The Tasty Baking Company’s line of baked snacks was established in 1914 after the Baur family moved from Pittsburgh to Philadelphia’s Germantown neighborhood; the king of Kandy Kakes is now headquartered in the city’s Navy Yard industrial complex. Whether you’re into Krimpets, Koffee Kakes, pies or cookie bars, Tastykake has an answer for everything – except why the family chose to spell cake with a “k.”

Utz

Last but not least is another Hanover-based titan of treats. Utz Brands, which began out of the Utz family home in 1921, has expanded over the years to include convenience store favorites like On the Border, Bachman, Zapp’s, Dirty, Golden Flake, Boulder Canyon, TGI Fridays Snacks and TORTIYAHS!. Utz and Snyder’s of Hanover planned a merger in 2009 before the effort was halted after an antitrust inquiry; the feds got salty about a potential pretzel monopoly threat.