A New Brunswick kettle-cooked potato chip maker has picked up a provincial government guarantee for a $100,000 working capital loan to diversify its product lines and expand its market reach.
Covered Bridge Chip Co., based at Hartland, about 100 km northwest of Fredericton, plans to use the loan to “further refine our products and add to our growing workforce,” company president Ryan Albright said in a provincial release Tuesday.
The company sells its hand-cooked, burlap-bagged “luxury” potato chips in various flavours to major grocery chains across Canada and the U.S.
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Covered Bridge is the potato chip arm of Albright Farms, a fourth-generation potato and cropping operation, based at nearby Jacksonville and run by Ryan, Matthew and Shaun Albright.
The chip factory sees regional tourist traffic drawn in part by the world’s longest covered bridge, which crosses the St. John River at Hartland.
“In the past year, we have seen Covered Bridge Potato Chip Co. Inc. grow from a small start-up to an internationally recognized company with products in stores across North America,” provincial Finance Minister Greg Byrne said in the release.
“Its unique brand of potato chips use New Brunswick russet potatoes to create a value-added product with real local flavour.”
According to the company, russet burbank potatoes offer a “darker colour and a unique flavour” in chips.
