HANOVER, PA. — Utz Brands Inc. said its Boulder Canyon potato chip brand has surpassed $100 million for the first time, helping the company’s Branded Salty Snacks segment — which includes Utz’s “Power Four” brands of Boulder Canyon, Utz, Zapp’s and On the Border — see a 3.7% increase in 2024 organic net sales compared to 2023.

“Our goal was to build Boulder Canyon into a $100 million retail sales brand by 2026,” said Howard Friedman, chief executive officer, Utz Brands. “I’m pleased to say that we surpassed $100 million in annual retail sales in 2024, and we are excited about the growth opportunities that lie ahead for this very on-trend brand. We see consumers loving the item. The velocities are very strong, and I think what we’re now seeing is as more retailers are interested in looking at that piece of the portfolio — better-for-you and avocado oil and non-seed oils — Boulder is obviously square dead-center in that trend with a great product that actually delivers on taste and affordability.” 

Boulder Canyon’s 2024 sales grew 110% in traditional retail channels and 34% in the natural foods channel, Friedman said. The chips are fried in avocado oil and not seed oil, which can be appealing to consumers trying to reduce or eliminate their intake of foods containing seed oils.

Utz’s strong sales in Branded Salty Snacks helped offset what the company said was lower-than-expected 2024 organic net sales growth of 1.3%, mainly due to Utz’s underperforming non-branded and non-salty snacks, salsas and dips, which collectively declined 12% in organic net sales compared to 2023. Continued soft demand in the convenience channel also contributed to those numbers.

For the year ended Dec. 29, 2024, Utz’s net income was $31 million, equal to 19¢ per share on the common stock, which compared with a loss of $40 million the year prior. Net sales were $1.41 billion, down from $1.44 billion in 2023.

Utz’s 2024 fourth-quarter net sales were $341 million, which compared with $352 million in the prior year period, a decrease of 3.2% due to the divestiture of the R.W. Garcia and Good Health brands. Branded Salty Snacks organic net sales increased 2.9%, which was offset by an 18% sales decline in non-branded and non-salty snacks, partner brands, dips and salsas.

Net income in the fourth quarter totaled $2.1 million, or 3¢ per share, which compared with a loss of $33 million in the prior-year period. The most recent quarter included an increase in the gain on the remeasurement of a warrant liability of $29.9 million.    

“We executed well against most things under our control, hitting and in some instances surpassing our targets for the year,” Friedman said. “That said, we did fall short of our organic net sales growth target, which was primarily driven by subdued category trends as value-seeking consumers attempted to offset the impacts of inflation, and continued greater-than- expected declines in the convenience store channel.”

Friedman added Utz will continue to carefully manage the low-margin areas of its business, such as dips, salsas and partner brands, and Utz doesn’t expect another double-digit decline in that area for 2025.   

Friedman noted that Utz was “primarily impacted by more competitive promotional pricing in potato chips across most tracked channels. In addition, consistent with the category, our convenience store trends have remained soft, but we are taking actions to be more competitive and continue to actively transition our assortment in potato chips to smaller bag sizes and lower price points.”

2025 outlook

Utz is forecasting low single-digit organic net sales growth for 2025, led by continued Branded Salty Snacks growth — particularly from the Power Four brands — and less decline in the Non-Branded and Non-Salty Snacks segment. The company also expects 6% to 10% adjusted EBITDA growth, and 10% to 15% adjusted earnings per share growth, led by increased operating earnings and lower interest expense.

“Our 2024 progress demonstrates that we are on schedule, and in certain cases, ahead of schedule, to hit or exceed our three-year bottom-line targets in 2026,” Friedman said. “It’s clear that our products are resonating with customers and consumers, and we believe that the network optimization and efficiency enhancements we made in 2024 will more effectively support our continued volume growth, protecting shareholder value while creating future value.”

Friedman also said Utz will continue to invest in expanding its distribution throughout the United States in 2025. Currently, the company has what it calls core geographies — foundational sales territory mostly along the Eastern Seaboard and Washington state — and expansion geographies, which are 28 states where Utz is working to gain market share.