By Melody Baetens, mbaetens@detroitnews.com
There’s one Detroit-centric holiday staple that won’t be under the tree or in gift baskets this year.
For years, Better Made Snack Foods has produced commemorative tins filled with milk and dark chocolate-covered potato chips. This year, though, customers won’t find them on store shelves.
Better Made’s vice president of sales and marketing Mark Costello says they aren’t being made in 2025 partially due to the rising cost of steel and chocolate, but also just to change things up and give new products time to shine.
“We’re taking a break this year,” said Costello. “The costs have risen for sure … but the long and the short of it is we more so wanted to take a break.”
The beloved tins may not be gone forever, though. Right now the 95-year-old company is promoting a new product, a limited-edition line of 5-ounce shakers containing the seasoning combination found on four potato chips. Choose from barbecue, red hot, sweet heat or sour cream and onion. The seasonings are $8.99 and can be used to put a little Detroit flavor on just about any food.
“We definitely are keeping the chocolate-covered potato chip in mind for in the future, we’ll see. There’s so many different items out there and versions, we always try to mix it up,” he said. “You never know, but it is something that we could come back to in the future.”
Customers like Anne Elsesser of St. Clair Shores hopes that’s the case. She’s been gifting the tins of chocolate potato chips to her children for years. Now that they are grown up and married, Elsesser buys at least four tins a year to give to her kids and their spouses.
“It’s very sad this year not to have them for them,” said Elsesser, adding that she went to five Kroger stores this year searching for the gift. “They always looked forward getting them.”
Better Made’s website has other giftable items like a big tin of original potato chips for $17.50, Better Made enamel logo holiday ornament for $9.99 plus beanies, t-shirts and other apparel.
Still looking for a tin of chocolate-covered potato chips? Try the Alpine Chocolat Haus which has locations all over Michigan including Plymouth, plus mail order.
