When mentioning Pringles, many people might think of the red cylindrical cans containing neatly stacked potato chips. However, what many may not know is that this snack brand originated from the challenge of making potato chips uniform in shape and stackable without breaking.
The solution was not found just in the kitchen; the story of Pringles involved science, engineering, and design, which became the brand's innovation and signature to this day.
Today, the story of Pringles reaches a new chapter in Thailand as Mars, the food company behind Pringles and other global snack brands like Snickers and M&M’s, officially opened the first Pringles factory in Thailand’s Chonburi province with an investment exceeding 7 billion baht.
This raises an interesting question: why did Mars choose Thailand as the production base for Pringles to export worldwide, and what will this investment bring to Thailand beyond just Thai-made potato chips?
Pringles’ story began in the mid-1950s during development at . . . Procter & Gamble (P&G)—the major U.S. consumer goods company aiming to create a new alternative to traditional potato chips, which often had issues with oiliness, staleness, and breakage during storage and transport.
Interestingly, Pringles was not the invention of a single inventor but the combined effort of three scientists who each tackled different challenges.
The first was Fredric Baur, a chemist and P&G researcher who began developing Pringles in the mid-1950s. He designed both the shape of the potato chip and the cylindrical can, creating a saddle-shaped chip known as the Hyperbolic Paraboloid, which allowed the chips to stack perfectly inside the can and reduced breakage during transport.
The second was Alexander Liepa, who enhanced Baur’s work by developing the flavor, earning credit as an inventor on Pringles’ patent. The third was Gene Wolfe, who developed the machinery to produce Pringles, enabling the shape and recipe to be manufactured at an industrial scale.
After years of development, Pringles launched in the late 1960s and gradually grew from an engineering food product to a global snack brand. Aside from the chip’s shape, one memorable brand feature is the “mustache” of Julius Pringles, the round-faced man with a curved mustache who became the brand’s mascot.
Pringles’ growth story also reflects a common aspect of global brands: ownership changes. Pringles was originally under Procter & Gamble before Kellogg's acquired the brand in 2012. Later, Pringles became part of Kellanova following Kellogg's business split.
A major turning point came in 2025 when Mars acquired Kellanova, officially bringing Pringles, Cheez-It, and Pop-Tarts into Mars Snacking’s portfolio.
The deal, valued at approximately 35.9 billion U.S. dollars, was a key move allowing Mars to expand its snack portfolio from brands like M&M'S, Snickers, Twix, Dove, Skittles, and Extra to include Kellanova’s brands such as Pringles and Cheez-It.
Thus, as Mars expands Pringles globally, the focus is not only on marketing but also on building a manufacturing network to efficiently produce and distribute to various markets, with Thailand becoming a crucial node in this network.
Recently, Mars officially announced the opening of the first Pringles manufacturing plant in Thailand’s Chonburi province, investing over 7 billion baht and beginning operations on the second production line to meet regional demand.
This factory is located in the Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC) industrial zone, covering about 73,800 square meters within a total project area of approximately 208,000 square meters.
Notably, although the factory is situated in Thailand, its target market extends beyond the country. The factory already exports Pringles to India, Hong Kong, and Taiwan, and is positioned as the main production and export base for the Asia Pacific, Middle East, and Africa (AMEA) regions.
Mars cites several reasons, which can be summarized into three main factors: infrastructure, workforce, and strategic location connecting regional markets.
The first reason is infrastructure. Establishing the factory in the EEC provides Thailand with industrial zones and infrastructure capable of supporting large-scale production, while Thailand’s location connects it to Southeast Asia and broader Asian markets.
Second is the workforce. Mars noted that the factory creates over 170 direct jobs at launch, invests in skill development and production capabilities, maintains a near-equal gender ratio among employees, and has women holding about 50% of leadership positions.
Third is the supply chain. Interestingly, nearly 50% of the factory’s procurement budget comes from Thai suppliers, meaning the impact extends beyond the 170 factory employees to Thai companies and entrepreneurs within the supply chain.
Another notable aspect of the Chonburi Pringles factory is that Mars has designed it as a Smart Factory, investing in technology, production processes, and supply chain systems to support long-term manufacturing. The official opening coincides with plans to start the second production line in September 2026 and a third line by late 2027.
From the government perspective, the Board of Investment (BOI) views Thailand as becoming part of the global supply chain for a world-class brand. Mars’s investment highlights Thailand’s capability as a base for advanced manufacturing and long-term foreign investment, helping create jobs, develop skills, and strengthen the country’s supply chain.
Sources Pringles, , The Atlantic, ,Mars,,The Guardian
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