Snak King was established in 1978 by three investor groups—a pork rind manufacturer, a distributor and a manufacturing facility. One of the investors at the time was Mike Levin, father of the current chairman and chief executive officer, Barry Levin. Barry Levin joined the company in 1979 and shortly thereafter purchased a one-third interest in the company. He purchased the remaining two-thirds over the next five years. In 1982, Snak King moved from its original 1,200-square-foot facility in downtown Los Angeles to a 50,000-square-foot facility. That year, the company introduced its El Sabroso brand. In 1984, it added popcorn and caramel corn, then expanded into cheese puffs and cheese curls. In 1994, the company relocated to Industry, California. In 2000, Snak King acquired the corn chip, popcorn and extruded snack lines of the West Coast-based Granny Goose snack label. In October 2004, rainfall triggered a massive roof collapse at its manufacturing and distribution facility, which took the company three years to rebuild at a cost of more than $30 million. The retooled plant included state-of-the-art, automated production lines that allowed for increase capacity and greater quality control. Its acquisition of Vitner's in 2011 nearly doubled Snak King's work force and floor space. Founded in 1926, Vitner's produces potato chips, tortilla chips, extruded puffs and curls, and other snack foods under its own brand name as well as private labels. Vitner's distributes to more than 20 states from its distribution centers in Chicago and Elk Grove Village, Illinois, and Merrillville, Indiana.
Awards
In 2006, Snak King received the ”Excellence in Business-Manufacturing” award from the Los Angeles Business Journal as well as the Snack Manufacturer of the Year award from Snack Food & Wholesale Bakery. In 2007, Barry Levin was honored by Ernst & Young as the “Entrepreneur of the Year”. In 2008, the executive team at Snak King received Snack Food & Wholesale Bakery's Executives of the Year award. In 2011, Levin received the California StateSmall BusinessPerson of the Year award and was one of 18 Small Business “Champions of Change” who met with representatives of the White House Administration. In 2013, Snak King received the Business of the Year Award from the San Gabriel ValleyEconomic Partnership.
