The world's most famous egg is back. Humpty Dumpty has returned as the official mascot of the potato chips industry, part of a larger effort to revitalize the brand and help its parent company, Small Fry Snack Foods Inc., win a larger share of the Canadian snack food market. The Humpty Dumpty image was dropped in 1994 after Small Fry had outworked, out-manoeuvered, and finally out-bid more than a dozen would-be Humpty Dumpty owners. His rivals included such industry heavyweights as Cott Beverages and Old Dutch Foods Ltd.

Some of the Humpty Dumpty initiatives will be: an Ontario-wide tour featuring the Humpty Dumpty mascot; status as the "Official Potato Chip Sponsor" of Toronto's Air Canada Centre, Maple Leafs NHL team and Raptors NBA team; and separate ad campaigns in Atlantic Canada and Quebec. In addition to rolling out new products in 1999, Small Fry is researching new package designs so it will eventually be able to bring all of its brands - like Doodles and Mexitos - under the Humpty Dumpty umbrella.

Operating primarily in Eastern Canada, Small Fry markets other well known brands as such as Humpty Dumpty 33% Reduced Fat potato chips, Extreme, New Waves, Party Mix, and Cape Cod. The company also supplies a full line of private label products to customers who include Canada's leading retail chains.

Currently Small Fry is the No. 2 player in the Canadian salty snack food market, behind Hostess Frito-Lay, with sales of about $160 million last year.

"We plan to take advantage of reduced costs to pursue the maximum available amount of profitable business in the market. The keys to winning that business will be our investments in product quality and strong regional marketing support."

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