The Chip Peddler’s Recipe for Growth
A business spotlight article for an Economic Development organization
photos courtesy of The Chip Peddler
It may look like Neil Hannum is just making tortilla chips, but according to the Chip Peddler himself, the challenge of building an impactful and original brand is his mission as he enters his seventh year in the snack food industry. Hannum started Durango Snack Werks with strong principles that are just as important as perfecting his delicious chips.
“This wasn’t my grandmother’s tortilla chip recipe,” Hannum explains. “It was about creating a locally-sourced product that does business in a responsible way.” That includes keeping dollars as local as possible, giving back to bicycling-based causes, and adhering to fair trade and sustainable practices. Hannum’s principles led him to an emerging niche in the snack food industry: hyperlocally-branded products. This developing trend is not just about buying the finished product in the region where it is produced. It’s about capturing the nuances of a region’s agriculture by sourcing single-origin ingredients close to the manufacturing facility and sharing that flavor across the country, or the world.
Hannum hopes that the hyperlocal consumer trend will launch him from his Durango retail presence and Whole Foods store in Longmont, CO into a 37-store contract. And as he prepares for growth, he takes the hyperlocal model with him. When he finds potential future manufacturing partners in other parts of the country, he brainstorms products using flavors and ingredients that can be sourced from that region. The Chip Peddler could become one of the first snack companies to create local mini-hubs of ingredient sourcing and manufacturing in multiple markets across the country. Within the industry, Hannum says he's talking to the consumer in a different way.
“I want people to understand where their groceries come from.”
Despite the distance to larger markets that can make distribution challenging, Hannum says La Plata County has been the perfect place to launch his business.
“Durango has been an awesome place to test because of our diverse community. I can see what resonates with different types of people.”
When Hannum was involved in a serious bicycle-versus-automobile accident in June of 2016, he said the local support was overwhelming. That includes the support of Region 9 Economic Development District. As Hannum was recovering in Denver for almost two months, Region 9 offered flexibility with his loan payments to make sure the accident didn’t negatively impact The Chip Peddler’s momentum. Hannum adds that Region 9 has an integral role in his business growth.
“Region 9 has the ability to understand what I’m going through as a business owner,” Hannum says. When he encounters roadblocks, he visits with Region 9 staff and resets his direction with their insight and the success stories of other Region 9 clients that have come before him.
With Hannum’s commitment to reinvesting in Southwest Colorado through commerce and philanthropy, a sense of economic responsibility is a natural byproduct of The Chip Peddler’s founding principles. “Our region is so dependent on oil and gas, tourism and government jobs. I wanted to support and grow our economy around a different industry.”
With The Chip Peddler firmly back in his two-wheeled saddle, Hannum is on his way to doing just that.
You can find The Chip Peddler’s tortilla chips at several Durango retailers, as well as at both Zia Taqueria locations, or chippeddler.com.