Washington Business Fall 2011 | Page 30

what’s working Tim’s Cascade Snacks: 25 Years Old and Still Tastes Fresh A Northwest icon celebrates 25 years of making some of the world’s most unique potato chips. Daniel C. Brunell A Pacific Northwest barbecue never seems right without a bag of Tim’s Cascade potato chips. Now celebrating its 25th anniversary, Tim’s Cascade Snacks is a Northwest institution. Just as microbreweries did for beer, Tim’s turned what once was a mundane product into a specialty snack. building a brand, one tasting at a time at a glance Tim’s Cascade Snacks was founded in 1986 by Tim Kennedy, his family and his business partner, Jeff Leichleiter. Tim’s Cascade Snacks has grown from selling their products at gas stations and corner stores around Auburn to 13 Western states, Canada, Japan, Taiwan and South Korea. Today, Tim’s Cascade Snacks (under the name brand Hawaiian Snacks) is on the verge of taking its Hawaiian brand of products to the Eastern Seaboard and eventually, nationwide. Tim’s Cascade Snacks has been recognized several times as one of the best places to work and as an environmental leader by the Association of Washington Busine