Holyoke native's company 'chips' in for a cause

Date: 8/4/2010

Aug. 4, 2010

By Mike Briotta

PRIME Editor

LONGMEADOW -- When Rick Jewell's new brand of potato chips first hit store shelves this summer, he hoped his startup snack-food company would bring visibility to a neurological disorder facing his four-year-old daughter.

A portion of the money spent on each bag of Rylee's kettle-cooked potato chips is donated to the Foundation for Children with Microcephaly.

"I'm doing this to honor Rylee," said the father and businessman. "She's not going to do the high school and college thing; she's not going to start a business. So this is my way to honor her. And the foundation does change the quality of life for many people, too. They have a yearly convention and get grants for research to figure out what can be done."

Infants with microcephaly have a head circumference that is smaller than normal. The result is a myriad of life-long developmental issues that medical experts are working to understand. Part of the challenge is that each child with microcephaly experiences different complications. Rylee's form is considered severe.

"Rylee is four years old now," Jewell continued. "She has a full-time nurse every day and occupational and physical therapy sessions weekly."

Although Jewell is pleased with the media attention received by other issues affecting young people, such as autism, he's concerned that microcephaly affects a greater percentage of children in America - yet it gets less recognition and funding.

He said that about 1 percent of all children in the United States are diagnosed with autism, whereas more than 2 percent of the child population has microcephaly.

Every summer, the Jewell family vacations on Cape Cod. The idea came about to celebrate Rylee with summer snacking and combine Rick's food business expertise with a deserving, charitable cause. It's a new take on kettle chips one you can feel good about.

One slogan the company promotes is the idea that a little help can make a big difference. Jewell's goals are to help build awareness about the issue, initiate support, and assure people in the same situation that they are not alone.

His new snack-food company J&D Foods is based in East Granby, Conn., in the same location as his primary business, Culinary Sales. The businessman's local roots run deep. He grew up in Holyoke and has lived in Longmeadow for more than eight years. He lives with his wife Jennifer, daughter Rylee, and son Ryan, age six.

"I'm basically a Western Mass. guy," Jewell said.

Jewell has been in the food business for nearly 20 years, primarily as a food broker. His business partner is named, appropriately, Dan Dinner.

He said of his business partner, "Dan has come to know me for seven years and knows what I've been through with a special needs child. It's a serious issue, so to make people aware of this, we needed something fun."

That mission is already working. His start-up snack company, launched in June, is quickly finding its niche on local store shelves.

Rylee's chips are already available at a few select locations: Armata's in Longmeadow; Frigo's in East Longmeadow, and Semolina Bread Co. on Bliss Road in Longmeadow. Northampton's River Valley Market will soon stock the snacks, he said.

"We're in the midst of talking with grocery store chains and retail establishments," Jewell said. "I'm pretty much calling everybody right now. Definitely the biggest aisle in the grocery store is the snack aisle. But there are major players in that area, from Frito-Lay to Kettle Chips. The biggest difference for us is the story behind our snacks."

He had already established some inroads from his Granby-based food business, so convincing food distributor Sysco to get involved was relatively straightforward.

"It went from zero to 60 in a heartbeat," he said. Since the company's inception in June, Rylee's snacks are now distributed in six major markets all within two months. They include sites in Connecticut and Boston. As he puts it, Rylee's snacks are already available "from Maine to the mid-Atlantic."

People most often want to talk about three topics with Jewell: What they can do for Rylee; what they can do to help the microcephaly foundation; and finally the statement "Oh by the way, your chips are fantastic too!"

Jewell said that this phrase has become an unofficial motto around his home and at the office.

Ryle''s kettle cooked potato chips go from the farm to being a delicious chip in about an hour.

According to his Web site, this time frame makes Rylee's one of the freshest chips on earth. He also strives to use the best ingredients. Rylee's chips have no monosodium glutamate; are all-natural; gluten-free; and have no trans-fats. They are also kosher certified and have no cholesterol, preservatives, or artificial flavors or colors.

Jewell added, "It's not like eating an apple, by any means, but these chips are healthier than most if you're going to snack. We try to keep the ingredients list very simple and clean, things like salt and pepper."

Although the company's snacks are currently only available in smaller bags that are nearly two ounces each, he hopes to expand to larger chip bags that weigh in around six ounces each.

Rylee's kettle-cooked chips are currently offered in seven flavors: Mesquite BBQ, Jalapeno, Salt & Pepper, Lightly Salted, Salt & Vinegar, Sweet Onion, and Spicy Dill Pickle. The first five, according to Jewell, were chosen from among the top-selling kettle-cooked chip flavors.

The latter two were flavors he thought would make for interesting discussions. Dinner, his business partner, brought back the pickle chip idea from a hockey trip to Canada. Friends and family were the first taste-testers.

"As you can tell, I love snacks and my family has always loved chips," Jewell said. "Our family would kid around about having chips in the house and that we were always snacking." He added, "Everyone has their own favorite flavors. Everyone's a chip connoisseur."

For more information on Rylee's Snacks, please visit the company Web site at www.ryleessnacks.com. The company can also be found on Twitter and Facebook. To find out more about the foundation, their Web site is www.childrenwithmicro.org.