The real Miss Vickie, of potato chip fame, makes her TikTok debut

A Canadian snack icon, Miss Vickie, is making her debut on TikTok — much to her fans' delight.

Vickie Kerr, the founder of Miss Vickie’s potato chips, has started an account with the intention of connecting directly with people who love her famed snacks.

While Miss Vickie's chips can be found across North America and Europe, sold everywhere from Costco to Subway franchises, not much is made of its Canadian roots.

Kerr initially created the product in 1987 from her farm in New Lowell, Ontario. Frustrated with the trans fats and preservatives that were found in potato chips at the time, she was compelled to create a better product for her family, using peanut oil instead. (The products now use canola or sunflower oil.)

After testing out her homemade chips at markets and food festivals, Kerr was garnered a loyal following. The family eventually sold their company to Frito-Lay in 1993, but still maintained relationships with their customers.

That’s evident on Kerr’s TikTok, where she has quickly racked up over 35,000 followers and posts videos replying to fan comments.

In a video posted Oct. 15, she says comments reminded her of when she first started her business and would ask her customers to tell her how they liked her product. After working at the plant, she’d go home to put her kids to bed, and then respond to some of the thousands of letters she’d receive from fans.

“It was such a joy to be able to do that,” she says. “It made me have a connection with my customers, and I loved it.”

Many are taking to the comment section of her two posts so far to share their enthusiasm for the products she helped create, and their special connection with the chips.

“My husband hid my engagement ring in a bag of Miss Vickie’s! My fave,” one commenter wrote, to which Kerr replied, “Oh goodness how romantic!!”

“When I was pregnant on my first I cried in a convenient store because they were out of Miss Vickie’s Salt and Vinegar. Sobbed,” another wrote.

Another commenter wrote about how her family — “the Allan girls” — used to work for the company when it first started.

“We loved having local women! I started a 4 day work week so we had 3 days to care for our families,” Kerr replied.

Kerr clarifies that her account is a personal one, intended to recount stories of the history of the brand but that she no longer owns the company.

Kerr isn’t the only member of her family to share the company’s history online. Her daughter, who goes by handle @littlemissCHIP-per, posts stories and memories from the company’s legacy.

TikTok is a popular place for Miss Vickie’s lovers to share their enthusiasm for the snack, where they test out new flavours and try to replicate versions of their own.