As the family-run firm approaches its 70th birthday, managing director of Tayto for over 17-years, Elly Hunter reflects on a remarkable journey, an exciting future and the mystery behind the ‘secret ingredient’
Category
🛠️
LifestyleTranscript
00:00Hi, my name's Ellie Hunter. I'm the Marketing Director of Taito. Taito was established in
00:141956 by Thomas Hutchison, a local pioneer within the County Armagh area, and is now
00:22just about to celebrate its 70th birthday in 2026. Taito is the UK's largest independent
00:29crisp manufacturer, privately owned, and we have grown significantly over time. In
00:352006, we bought the Golden Wonder brand, and we now have brands such as Taito Crisps, which
00:41is the number one brand in Northern Ireland. We have a wide range of snacks, crisps, popcorn,
00:47and we do an awful lot of activity within the market. This year, we reopened our tours
00:52for the first time since pre-COVID. Tours have been an excellent institution for schools,
00:57local groups, for tourists to come to. We're getting five-star ratings, our tour guides
01:02are brilliant, but a really good opportunity to come and see how crisps and snacks are made,
01:06meet Mr. Taito, and get lots of goodies along the way. Taito sources local ingredients,
01:11and it's hugely important to us. We have 12 farmers in Northern Ireland who grow our
01:16specially selected potatoes for frying the perfect crisp, and they have been working
01:21with us for years to make sure that we have the best local product. We also work with local
01:26suppliers in the ingredients, including the cardboard, the film, and the seasoning, to
01:30make sure that we're putting money back into the Northern Irish economy. There's been so
01:35many things that I'm proud of in my 17 years at Taito, but I suppose the thing I'm proudest
01:40for is the fact that the Taito brand of crisps is still number one in Northern Ireland, and
01:45so I'm very proud to work on it.