Taste of Maine Chips: How a $75M Factory Is Reviving Maine Potato Country

Taste of Maine Chips are bringing a brand-new crunch to one of Maine’s oldest agricultural traditions. Made in Limestone, Maine, with locally grown potatoes from Aroostook County, these kettle-cooked potato chips are the result of a major new investment in northern Maine’s potato industry.

For generations, potatoes have been more than just another crop in northern Maine. They are part of the landscape, the economy and the identity of Aroostook County. Families have planted them, harvested them and built businesses around them for well over a century.

Now, a brand-new Maine company is taking that long agricultural tradition and turning it into something deliciously familiar: kettle-cooked potato chips.

Taste of Maine Potato Chip Company, located in Limestone, Maine, has officially begun production at a new facility representing an investment of approximately $75 million. After more than two years of planning, permitting and construction, the first Taste of Maine chips began reaching Maine store shelves in late July 2026. (Bangor Daily News)

And for northern Maine, this is about much more than a bag of chips.

Who Owns Taste of Maine Potato Chip Company?

Taste of Maine is owned and operated by Bruce Sargent, a Presque Isle native who grew up on a potato farm in Aroostook County. His background eventually expanded into transportation, logistics and business, but Maine agriculture remained part of his roots.

The idea behind Taste of Maine was refreshingly simple: if some of the country’s best potatoes are already being grown in Aroostook County, why shouldn’t more of them be turned into finished products right here in Maine?

Plans for the company became public in 2024, when Sargent and Jim Pelkey announced a proposed potato-chip operation at the former Loring Air Force Base in Limestone. The project was initially estimated at approximately $55 million. As plans expanded and construction costs increased, that investment ultimately grew to roughly $75 million. (Bangor Daily News)

Today, the production facility encompasses more than 80,000 square feet and represents one of the most significant new industrial investments northern Maine has seen in years. Taste of Maine’s official website describes a modern operation designed around automation, food safety, efficiency and future expansion. (Taste of Maine)

From Aroostook County Potatoes to Kettle-Cooked Chips

Perhaps the most exciting part of the Taste of Maine story is where the potatoes come from.

According to Sargent, the potatoes being used are grown on farms located within roughly 10 miles of the Limestone plant. Earlier plans called for locally sourced russet and round-white potatoes, allowing a crop grown in The County to be processed just miles from where it leaves the ground. (Bangor Daily News)

At full production with its initial four kettles, the plant is expected to require potatoes from approximately 1,500 acres each year. The building was designed so production could eventually expand to eight kettles, potentially doubling that agricultural demand. (PotatoPro)

That creates something farmers value tremendously: another large, nearby market for their crop.

Instead of Maine potatoes traveling hundreds or thousands of miles before becoming a finished product, more of the value can remain right here in Maine — from growing and harvesting to trucking, processing, packaging and distribution.

The Caribou Russet and Maine Potato Innovation

The Taste of Maine story also arrives during an exciting period for Maine potato agriculture.

One of the biggest success stories in recent years has been the Caribou Russet, a potato variety developed through the University of Maine’s potato breeding program in partnership with the Maine Potato Board. Named after the Aroostook County city of Caribou, the variety was officially released in 2017 after years of research and testing. (Maine Potato Board)

Today, Caribou Russet has become Maine’s leading certified seed potato variety. University of Maine researchers developed it for strong yields and other characteristics important to growers, demonstrating that Maine isn’t simply preserving an old agricultural industry — it is continuing to improve it. (The University of Maine)

Taste of Maine sits right in the middle of that potato-growing region, creating a new destination for locally grown potatoes and another reason to keep investing in Maine agriculture.

A Brief History of Maine’s Potato Industry

To understand why this new factory matters, you have to look back.

Potato farming became increasingly important in Aroostook County during the 1800s. When rail transportation arrived after the Civil War, farmers suddenly had better access to distant markets. Potato production increased dramatically, while starch factories also developed to process the crop. Maine History Online notes that Aroostook County’s first starch factory opened in 1871. (Maine Memory Network)

Over time, potatoes became inseparable from life in The County.

Generations of Maine families remember potato harvest season when schools, businesses and entire communities adjusted their schedules around getting the crop out of the ground. Potato houses, trucks, farm equipment and miles of potato fields became defining images of northern Maine.

The industry remains enormously important today.

According to the USDA, Maine farmers planted approximately 52,000 acres of potatoes in 2025, producing more than 1.7 billion pounds with an estimated production value exceeding $257 million. (NASS)

University of Maine research puts the industry’s wider economic impact even higher, estimating that Maine’s potato industry generates approximately $1.3 billion in annual economic activity and supports more than 6,500 jobs. (The University of Maine)

How Taste of Maine Chips Support Maine Farmers

Taste of Maine could help extend that economic impact beyond the farm.

The factory has already created around 20 jobs during its initial production phase. Sargent has said that operating around the clock could eventually increase employment to 60 or more people. At full capacity, the operation could produce as much as 14 million pounds of potato chips annually.

The location makes the story even more meaningful.

The facility sits on the former Loring Air Force Base, which closed in 1994. For communities surrounding Limestone, the loss of Loring meant losing a major economic engine. Three decades later, new agricultural and manufacturing investments are helping bring industry back to the property.

A potato-chip plant may sound simple, but its ripple effects reach farmers, truck drivers, equipment suppliers, packaging companies, distributors, retailers and dozens of Maine families earning paychecks.

That’s exactly the kind of homegrown economic development northern Maine needs.

Where Can You Buy Taste of Maine Chips?

Of course, there’s one more important part of this story:

You can finally eat them.

Taste of Maine launched with five kettle-cooked flavors, including Classic Sea Salt, Aroostook BBQ, Salt & Vinegar, Salt & Pepper, and Sour Cream & Onion.

And we’re excited to announce that Box of Maine is now offering Taste of Maine Potato Chips on our website.

That means you don’t have to be in Limestone, Presque Isle or even Maine to try one of the state’s newest products. Box of Maine ships throughout the United States, with free shipping to all 50 states. (Box of Maine)

For those of you who grew up seeing endless potato fields in The County, picked potatoes during harvest, had family members who farmed or simply remember a sack of Maine potatoes sitting in the kitchen, Taste of Maine represents something special.

It’s a new company built around one of Maine’s oldest traditions.

A potato grown in Aroostook County, processed in Limestone and shipped from Maine to someone hundreds or thousands of miles away.

That’s a story we’re pretty proud to put in a box.

Ready to try them? Shop Taste of Maine Potato Chips at BoxOfMaine.com and have a brand-new taste of The County delivered right to your door — anywhere in the USA with free shipping.