Better Made Snack Foods

01 / The story of this place

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Cross Moceri and Peter Cipriano, two Sicilian immigrant friends, started selling potato chips together in Detroit in 1930 after Moceri was turned down for a sales commission by another chip maker; they launched their own brand under the name Cross & Peters Company and rolled out the Better Made name in 1934. The business grew through the Depression and the postwar boom, and in 1955 the partners built a 25,000-square-foot plant on Gratiot Avenue on Detroit's east side, which is still the company's home today. The Cipriano family eventually bought out the Moceris, and Better Made Snack Foods has stayed family-owned and Detroit-made ever since, expanding into popcorn, pretzels and other snacks while keeping its potato chips as the flagship product found in nearly every Detroit corner store and gas station. The Gratiot plant no longer offers factory tours, but its outlet store still sells chips fresh off the line at a discount.

1. Founded in 1930 by Cross Moceri and Peter Cipriano
2. Better Made brand name launched in 1934
3. Gratiot Avenue plant built in 1955, still the company's home
4. Still family-owned by Cipriano descendants
5. Factory outlet store open to the public on weekdays