Christie’s was founded by Christie Buck in 2020. Christie began her career in food at culinary school in Chicago, simultaneously working as a banquet cook at the renowned Peninsula Hotel. She blocked all of the online courses that she needed to take for her culinary degree into one quarter and made her way to San Francisco, where she spent some time working at two-Michelin star restaurant Lazy Bear. After finishing school, Christie accepted a research and development position for a large food manufacturing company back home in Indiana, learning about the behind-the-scenes of food production. During this time, however, she witnessed firsthand the alarming amounts of artificial preservatives and additives that went into producing these commercialized food products. Christie came to the realization that many manufacturers prioritize profits over quality and nutrition, and advised her family and friends against purchasing certain products at the grocery store. She began to dream up her own brand — one that would emphasize clean ingredients and contain zero artificial preservatives.

As a lifelong potato chip lover, Christie immediately knew what product she wanted to launch. Her idea was cemented when she found that there were no vegan or non-dairy options for many of the classically-loved potato chip flavors such as sour cream and onion. Leveraging her culinary background, Christie began to tinker with various recipes in her home kitchen, playing around with different ingredients and measurements. It wasn’t easy to achieve a “cheesy” taste with no cheese, but countless iterations later and failed attempts later, Christie stumbled upon the perfect recipe and brought it to scale. Today, Christie and her team lovingly hand-pack each bag of their potato chips that are made fresh daily, delighting consumers across the country with vegan versions of nostalgic flavors.