Editing Pringles (section)

== History ==
[[File:2020-09-06 16 12 15 An open can of Original Pringles in the Franklin Farm section of Oak Hill, Fairfax County, Virginia.jpg|thumb|Open canister of Pringles.  The tubular can was designed to address customer complaints about broken chips and empty air in the bags.]]
[[File:Hyperbolic_Paraboloid_Quadric.png|thumb|Each Pringles chip is in the mathematical shape of a [[hyperbolic paraboloid]].]]
In 1956, Procter & Gamble assigned a task to [[food chemistry|chemist]] [[Fredric J. Baur]] (1918–2008): to develop a new kind of potato chip to address consumer complaints about broken, greasy, and stale chips, as well as air in the bags.<ref>{{Cite web |date=31 May 2012 |title=Pringles&nbsp;– Bidding Farewell to a P&G Original |url=http://news.pg.com/blog/heritage/pringles-%E2%80%93-bidding-farewell-pg-original |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190506181137/https://news.pg.com/blog/heritage/pringles-%E2%80%93-bidding-farewell-pg-original |archive-date=6 May 2019 |access-date=28 April 2015 |website=P&G Corporate Newsroom |publisher=Procter & Gamble}}</ref> Baur spent two years developing saddle-shaped chips from fried dough, and selected a tubular can as the chips' container. The saddle-shape of Pringles chips is mathematically known as a [[hyperbolic paraboloid]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Pringles |url=http://www.pg.com/en_US/brands/health_wellbeing/pringles.shtml |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091224010344/http://www.pg.com/en_US/brands/health_wellbeing/pringles.shtml |archive-date=24 December 2009 |access-date=28 April 2015 |publisher=Procter & Gamble}}</ref> However, Baur could not figure out how to make the chips palatable, and was pulled off the task to work on another brand.

In the mid-1960s another P&G researcher, Alexander Liepa of [[Montgomery, Ohio]], restarted Baur's work and succeeded in improving the taste.<ref name="flop">{{Cite news |last=Martin |first=Andrew |date=5 April 2011 |title=Once a Great Flop, Now Sold for Billions |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/06/business/06pringles.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220620133234/https://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/06/business/06pringles.html |archive-date=20 June 2022 |access-date=28 April 2015 |work=The New York Times}}</ref> Although Baur designed the shape of the Pringles chip, Liepa's name is on the patent.<ref>{{cite patent|inventor1-last=Liepa|inventor1-first=Alexander L.|country=US|number=3998975|title=Potato chip products and process for making same|assign1=[[Procter & Gamble]]|pubdate=1976-12-21}}</ref> [[Gene Wolfe]], a mechanical engineer and author known for [[science fiction]] and [[fantasy]] novels, helped develop the machine that cooked them.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Person |first=Lawrence |date=Fall–Winter 1998 |title=Suns New, Long, and Short: An interview with Gene Wolfe |url=http://home.roadrunner.com/~lperson1/wolfe.html |url-status=dead |journal=Nova Express |volume=5 |issue=1 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090916170648/http://home.roadrunner.com/~lperson1/wolfe.html |archive-date=16 September 2009 |access-date=28 April 2015}}</ref><ref name="WaPo">{{Cite news |last=Gevers |first=Nick |date=April 7, 2002 |title=Could a former engineer who helped invent Pringles be our greatest living writer? |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/entertainment/books/2002/04/07/could-a-former-engineer-who-helped-invent-pringles-be-our-greatest-living-writer-reviewed-by-nick-gevers/99fce68e-ce0f-4bd2-8409-6b99e4e09945/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190106204733/https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/entertainment/books/2002/04/07/could-a-former-engineer-who-helped-invent-pringles-be-our-greatest-living-writer-reviewed-by-nick-gevers/99fce68e-ce0f-4bd2-8409-6b99e4e09945/ |archive-date=6 January 2019 |access-date=2019-12-10 |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |language=en-US |issn=0190-8286}}</ref>

In 1968, P&G first marketed Pringles in Indiana.<ref>{{Cite news |date=3 February 1971 |title=Progress Report Given On Jackson P&G Plant |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/67151025/progress-report-given-on-jackson-pg/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210110164401/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/67151025/progress-report-given-on-jackson-pg/ |archive-date=10 January 2021 |access-date=8 January 2021 |work=The Jackson Sun}}</ref><ref name=ukpg/> The earliest mention in an advertisement was on October 3, 1968, where a newspaper in [[Evansville, Indiana]] advertised "Pringle Potato Chips" as being "New at [[Kroger]]".<ref>''The Evansville (IN) Press'', October 3, 1968, p.35</ref> Afterward, they were gradually distributed around the rest of the country and by 1975, were available across most of the US. By 1991, Pringles were distributed internationally.<ref name="ukpg">{{Cite web |year=2007 |title=Pringles |url=http://www.uk.pg.com/products/products/pringles.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100104044701/http://www.uk.pg.com/products/products/pringles.html |archive-date=4 January 2010 |access-date=28 April 2015 |publisher=Procter & Gamble UK}}</ref>

There are several theories behind the origin of the product's name. One theory refers to Mark Pringle, who filed a US Patent 2,286,644 titled "Method and Apparatus for Processing Potatoes" on March 5, 1937.<ref>{{cite patent|country=US|number=2286644|title=Method and apparatus for processing potatoes|inventor1-last=Pringle|inventor1-first=Mark|inventor2-last=Lame|inventor2-first=Herman F.|assign1=George A. Brace|pubdate=1942-06-16}}</ref> Pringle's work was cited by P&G in filing their own patent for improving the taste of dehydrated processed potatoes.<ref name="flop" /> Another theory suggests that two Procter advertising employees lived on Pringle Drive in [[Finneytown, Ohio|Finneytown]] (north of Cincinnati, Ohio), and the name paired well with "potato chips".<ref name="flop" /><ref>{{Cite web |year=2012 |title=How Pringles got its name |url=http://pgsnacks.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/1288/session/L3NpZC9IYTJ3eF9Saw%3D%3D |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120714203735/http://pgsnacks.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/1288/session/L3NpZC9IYTJ3eF9Saw%3D%3D |archive-date=14 July 2012 |access-date=1 March 2012 |publisher=Procter & Gamble Everyday Solutions Canada}}</ref> Another theory says that P&G chose the Pringles name from a [[Cincinnati]] telephone book.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Trex |first=Ethan |date=27 July 2010 |title=Where Did 'Pringles' Come From? The Stories Behind 7 Salty Snacks |url=http://mentalfloss.com/article/25297/where-did-pringles-come-stories-behind-7-salty-snacks |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220311032738/https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/25297/where-did-pringles-come-stories-behind-7-salty-snacks |archive-date=11 March 2022 |access-date=14 July 2015 |website=[[Mental Floss]]}}</ref> Another source says that the name Pringles was "chosen out of a hat" to promote a family name appeal.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Lazarus |first=George |date=13 February 1969 |title=Big Firms Wrestle Over Chips Name |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/67132846/big-firms-wrestle-over-chips-name/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210110031021/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/67132846/big-firms-wrestle-over-chips-name/ |archive-date=10 January 2021 |access-date=7 January 2021 |work=Fort Worth Star-Telegram}}</ref>

The product was originally known as Pringle's Newfangled Potato Chips, but other snack manufacturers objected, saying Pringles failed to meet the definition of a [[potato chip|potato "chip"]] since they were made from a potato-based dough rather than being sliced from potatoes. The US Food and Drug Administration weighed in on the matter, and in 1975 they ruled Pringles could only use the word "chip" in their product name within the phrase: "potato chips made from dried potatoes".<ref>{{Cite magazine |date=8 December 1975 |title=Non-Crunch on Pringle's |url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,947586,00.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080308010931/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,947586,00.html |archive-date=8 March 2008 |access-date=28 April 2015 |magazine=Time}}</ref> Faced with such a lengthy and unpalatable appellation, Pringles eventually renamed their product potato "crisps", instead of chips.

In July 2008, in the [[High Court of Justice|London High Court]], P&G lawyers successfully argued that Pringles were not crisps (the term by which potato chips are known in British English), even though labelled "Potato Crisps" on the container, as the potato content was only 42% and their shape, P&G stated, "is not found in nature". This ruling, against a United Kingdom [[value added tax]] (VAT) and Duties Tribunal decision to the contrary, exempted Pringles from the then 17.5% VAT for potato crisps and potato-derived snacks.<ref name="news" /> In May 2009, the [[Court of Appeal of England and Wales|Court of Appeal]] reversed the earlier decision. A spokesman for P&G stated it had been paying the VAT proactively and owed no back taxes.<ref>{{Cite news |date=20 May 2009 |title=Pringles lose Appeal Court case |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/8060204.stm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201109043052/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/8060204.stm |archive-date=9 November 2020 |access-date=28 April 2015 |publisher=BBC}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=20 May 2009 |title=British court rules yes, Pringles are in fact chips |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna30850499 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180312081914/http://www.nbcnews.com/id/30850499/ |archive-date=12 March 2018 |access-date=28 April 2015 |publisher=NBC News |agency=Associated Press}}</ref>

In April 2011, P&G agreed to the US$2.35&nbsp;billion sale of the brand to [[Diamond Foods]] of California, a deal which would have more than tripled the size of Diamond's snack business.<ref>{{Cite news |date=5 April 2011 |title=Pringles sold by P&G to Kettle Chips firm Diamond Foods |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-12973728 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220401164710/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-12973728 |archive-date=1 April 2022 |access-date=28 April 2015 |work=BBC News}}</ref> However, the deal fell through in February 2012 after a year-long delay due to issues over Diamond's accounts. On May 31, 2012, [[Kellogg's]] officially acquired Pringles for $2.695&nbsp;billion as part of a plan to grow its international snacks business.<ref>{{Cite news |last=de la Merced |first=Michael J. |date=15 February 2012 |title=Kellogg Wins Pringles After Diamond Deal Falls Apart |url=https://dealbook.nytimes.com/2012/02/15/kellogg-wins-pringles-after-diamond-deal-falls-apart/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191001163258/https://dealbook.nytimes.com/2012/02/15/kellogg-wins-pringles-after-diamond-deal-falls-apart/ |archive-date=1 October 2019 |access-date=28 April 2015 |work=The New York Times}}</ref> The acquisition of Pringles made Kellogg's the second-largest snack company in the world.<ref name="acquisition">{{Cite press release |title=Kellogg Company Completes Pringles Acquisition |date=31 May 2012 |publisher=Kellogg Company |url=http://kelloggs.mediaroom.com/index.php?s=43&item=382 |access-date=28 April 2015}}</ref> In 2024, Kellanova, Kellogg's parent company, agreed to be purchased by [[Mars Inc.]]<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.ft.com/content/d285bbd7-3aaa-411f-960b-dc9f7a5c4c30|title=Mars strikes $36bn deal to buy Pringles maker Kellanova|newspaper=Financial Times|date=14 August 2024}}</ref>

As of 2015, there were five Pringles factories worldwide: in [[Jackson, Tennessee]]; [[Mechelen|Mechelen, Belgium]]; [[Johor|Johor, Malaysia]]; [[Kutno|Kutno, Poland]];<ref>{{Cite web |title=Kellogg's oficjalnie otwiera fabrykę w Kutnie i zapowiada jej rozbudowę. Trwa rekrutacja pracowników - Newsy - Newseria Biznes |url=http://www.biznes.newseria.pl/news/kelloggs_oficjalnie,p971681487 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191015172855/https://biznes.newseria.pl/news/kelloggs_oficjalnie,p971681487 |archive-date=15 October 2019 |access-date=4 January 2016 |website=www.biznes.newseria.pl}}</ref> and [[Fujian|Fujian, China]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=April 2011 |title=Merger of Pringles Snack Business with Diamond Foods |url=http://www.pg.com/en_US/downloads/investors/investor_presentation.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190506174147/https://www.pg.com/en_US/downloads/investors/investor_presentation.pdf |archive-date=6 May 2019 |access-date=28 April 2015 |publisher=Procter & Gamble |page=14}}</ref>