Fresh Snack Ideas from Old Oakville

Terry Dennis' bothered conscience is the snack world's reward.

With over 22 years in the food industry, Terry Dennis was once an executive board member for Food and Consumer Products Canada and was involved in a project concerning childhood obesity. At the time, Dennis was also working for Storck, the company that makes such fine sugary delights as Werther's Originals, Campino, and Toffifee.

As Dennis puts it, "The guilt factor kicked in."

In 2005, he founded Old Oakville Snack Company Inc., producing baked snacks made without preservatives or artificial flavouring and creating a way to indulge in chip-like treats without all the fat, calories, and chemicals.

"I don't want to name names," he says, "but there are products out there that are positioned as healthy, and they're really not." Okay, so Dennis doesn't want to name names, but my own research shows that a 30g serving of Tostitos Multi-Grain chips contains 8g of fat. One could eat almost twice the amount of Old Oakville's Multigrain Tortillas and consume less than half the amount of fat. And my best friend's much-lauded Kettle brand chips, the ones that are always prominently situated in the "natural" foods aisle of my local supermarket, provide 16g of greasy goodness for 50g's worth of snacking. That's a serving of less than 30 chips and almost one-third of the recommended daily fat intake. We don't need to get into comparisons with snack foods that don't even try to pretend their stuff is remotely good for you. That leaves lots of room for snack items that are healthy and satisfying amidst all the "junk" that's available.

With good quality products at a decent price point, Old Oakville has made significant inroads in the snack food market in a relatively short period of time. But things didn't start off happily. Just days before Old Oakville was set to roll out its products, Dennis' older brother and business partner had a fatal heart attack. "It was a rough time," he says. "And he was a relatively healthy guy. But he did love his snacks." His brother's death served to make Dennis even more determined to make Old Oakville a success.

His hard work is paying off. Last month, Dennis received an invitation from the Canadian government in Hong Kong to have his products shipped to a Hong Kong retailer, a move prompted by HK's drive to get healthier snack options into its schools. "The Canadian government has been spectacular," he says.

Old Oakville's dedication to healthier lifestyles includes supporting Healthy Active Living for Kids which assists community sports teams across Canada. Old Oakville has also participated as an official sponsor - "the official chip" - of the Toronto marathon.

I took some samples to work with me the day after our interview to share with my co-workers. The "krisps" line includes Honey BBQ (made with soy - and currently one of Old Oakville's fastest movers), Ketchup, and Sea Salt and Malt Vinegar. We also sampled Old Oakville's newest addition to their product line, WiseFries - "the revolutionary krinkle cut, fry-shaped snack with a superior crunch." I had two bags of these - one of each in the two flavours currently available - white cheddar and spicy Monterey jack (poutine flavour is in development) - and both were gone within minutes of their appearance at my workplace.

While my beloved co-workers are never ones to turn up their noses at free food, Old Oakville snacks proved to be a bona fide hit. Our controller came by with pen and pad to write down the product details, and our tech specialist went out later that weekend and bought himself a bag of the Honey BBQ. (Old Oakville snacks may be purchased at Metro and Dominion stores, A&P, Shoppers Drug Mart, and at some Zellers and WalMarts.)

Speaking for myself, I've got a bit of thing for most chips and related chip-like snack items. But I would never go out of my way to purchase BBQ or ketchup-flavoured anything as I find these flavours too sweet. Old Oakville, however, has changed my mind - especially with the ketchup; one can taste the tomato rather than the sugar.

"Ketchup flavour was the biggest challenge," says Dennis. "Our products are made with all natural ingredients. Most ketchup flavour chips have huge lists of ingredients. We didn't want that."