Simba Chips

For the company synonymous with the potato crisps, see Simba (South African company).

Simba Chips (commonly referred to simply as Simba) is a popular South African brand of potato crisps. It was first introduced in 1957 by the Greyvensteyn family. "Simba" is the Swahili word for "lion" and the product's mascot is an adult male African Lion.^[1][2]

Simba Chips

Product type	Potato crisps
Owner	PepsiCo (1995)
Country	South Africa
Introduced	1957; 68 years ago (1957)
Related brands	Ouma Rusks NikNaks Ghost Pops Doritos Lay's
Markets	Southern Africa
Previous owners	Greyvenstyn Family (1957) Fedfood (1977) Foodcorp (1992)
Tagline	Roars with flavour
Website	Brand Website

History

Having successfully marketed Ouma Rusks in the 1940s and 1950s, the Greyvensteyn family were looking for ways to diversify their family business. In 1955, Leon Greyvensteyn travelled to a food fair in Germany in search of ideas. It was there that he met a man called Herman Lay – the co-founder of Frito-Lay, the largest chip company in the world.^[3] The two men struck up a friendship, and Leon travelled on to the United States where he saw a potato chip factory in action.^[4][5]