Snyder’s of Hanover – Discover the Pretzelbilities
We finally made
it to Snyder’s of Hanover! “Finally,” because, this isn’t our first trip to
Hanover, Pa. Hanover is also the home of UTZ and is a short distance
away from York County, Pa., the self-proclaimed Factory Tour Capital of the
World! Unfortunately, although the factory store
was open, the actual factory tour at Snyder’s had not been available to us
until this trip on a Wednesday morning.
We had mixed expectations going into the tour since it proved
so elusive to us. The tour is offered on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays at
10:00am, 11:00am and 1:00pm, with a reservation. Considering the inconvenient
times, we weren’t sure what to expect. We thought it might be an exclusive tour
provided by someone with unique knowledge or we might possibly see some
exceptional product being produced, but alas, it was none of them.
When we arrived at the factory, we immediately recognized
the iconic Snyder’s of Hanover image—we could almost taste our family favorite Honey
Mustard and Onion pretzels. When we entered the store, we received a friendly
greeting and were immediately taken up a stairwell to begin our tour.
Sadly, the tour itself was mediocre, at best. Whatever
our expectations were, the factory tour was wholly underwhelming. In a corporate
hallway with offices on one side, we first saw packaged boxes of pretzels and
tortilla chips moving on a belt toward shipping. This was an exciting thing to
see since the kids recognized the large boxes from the supermarket and the size
of the facility was quite impressive. We then moved to the next part of the
hallway to see the pretzel bagging. For me, this was the highlight of the tour.
Seeing how the pretzels moved down a belt, were separated into smaller bags and
then those bags were grouped and packaged was exactly what we expect to see on
a factory tour—impressive and mesmerizing! Finally, we moved to see how the
pretzels and tortilla chips were made. We couldn’t see much, but we could feel
the warmth on the windows from the baking. This facility only makes pretzels
and tortilla chips; other products are made throughout the country.
The best part of the trip to Snyder’s was definitely the
Factory Store. The store had tons of discounted products from the entire Snyder’s-Lance
family (including Cape Cod potato chips, Pretzel Crisps, Jay’s, Stella D’oro
and Krunchers!). We quickly filled up our cart with more chips and pretzels
than we needed…and another dozen things that we just wanted to try like chocolate-covered
gluten free pretzels (Shira’s choice) and Salted Caramel Sweet and Salty
Pretzel Pieces (my choice). Meghann went for Krunchers! Sriracha Kettle Cooked
potato chips while Penina and Shiffy chose differently packaged Honey Mustard
and Onion Pretzel Pieces. We threw in a bunch of other things to try and are
getting through them slowly. A delectable and tasty variety made the Factory
Store a great end to the tour. Sadly, the tour was so fast that we spent four-times
more time in the store than on the tour.
The tour is free and the tour guide was excellent. She was
very knowledge and answered all of our questions without hesitating, including how
many actual tons of salt they use a month at the facility. She provided us with
a small bag of pretzels after the tour and the store had samples out for
tasting new products. We had a nice time at Snyder’s but it was really nothing
special. If not for the Factory Store and the convenient location to other
activities in York, it would have been much more disappointing.
We’ll give Snyder’s of Hanover a 2 out of 5 stars since
it provided everything a tour should, but it just wasn’t a very exciting tour
and hardly unique. Be sure to schedule it with other tours in the area.
Kashrus note: Most
Snyder’s products are OU and OU-D. Most of the products in the store are
certified kosher, but please check while you shop.Overall Rating: 2 out of 5 stars
Location: Hanover, PA
Affordability: Free
Nearby Attractions: Everything in York
(UTZ, Turkey Hill, etc.)
(UTZ, Turkey Hill, etc.)
