The idea for Jalca Chips emerged from the work done by a team of scientists from the International Potato Center. The team began brainstorming creative ways to link Andean farmers to markets. As an experiment, a team member began making potato chips out of the beautiful native potatoes found only in the highest Andean regions. They discovered that not only were the chips delicious, but they absorbed much less oil than typical potato chips. These results and the positive feedback from everyone who saw and tasted the stunning chips led to the creation of Jalca Chips, the Native Potato Snack.