I wish to purchase a product which are Apple Crisps; dried slices of
Apple, packages in a bag in a similar fashion to normal Potato chips
(they are not flavored slices of regular chips).

There are some branded versions of this product, as well as differing
flavors, I have no preference.

As I live in the UK, I am ideally after a UK supplier/producer but
will be happy with a USA stockist that is willing to ship to the UK.
The company does not necessary need to have any e-commerce shop.

Hi there.  Against what I expected, I had a little difficulty finding
a lot of retailers for this sort of product outside of "gift baskets".

I made use, however, of Google's "Froogle" product-finding tool which
provided several results.

Searching for "apple chips -soy" and "apple crisps -soy", I found the following:

The Quick Gourmet
http://www.thequickgourmet.com/natapchip.html

Seneca Foods
http://consumer.senecafoods.com/store/product.cfm?productid=697

Food Locker
http://store.yahoo.com/foodlocker/pl9831.html

Unfortunately, I couldn't find any UK suppliers, but I hope these work
out for you.  If you play around with additional terms in Froogle, you
may find some additional resources.

--Joey

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Clarification of Answer by joey-ga on 06 Jun 2004 14:04 PDT

I forgot to mention that Froogle is available at:

     http://froogle.google.com/

---

Request for Answer Clarification by kmander-ga on 06 Jun 2004 14:30 PDT

While I appreciate you have clearly understood the nature of my
question and what I am seeking, I still find myself back at square one
since none of the retailers (which I have identified myself before)
are willing to ship to the UK.

As another solution, and for acceptance of your provided answer,
perhaps you might be able to find a company that is located in Canada
(or ships to Canada). Perhaps an online grocery store?

---

Clarification of Answer by joey-ga on 06 Jun 2004 14:45 PDT

Hmm, I'm sorry to find that's the case.  I've done some research and
Seneca appears to provide their Apple Chips internationally.  I have
contacted them to inquire about distributors and retailers who will
ship to the UK, and will let you know when I hear back from them
(hopefully within a business day or two).

---

Request for Answer Clarification by kmander-ga on 07 Jun 2004 10:49 PDT

Okay Joey - that is fine. I am a bit disappointed that there appears
to be no solution to my problem, however I recognize that you have
tried your best

I will give you a $4 tip ($10 total) if you can help find an
alternative solution...

There are a few services which current exist that offers mail
forwarding, whereby you are given a USA postal address for
packages/letters to be sent to. These are then forwarded by the third
party onto yourself, anywhere in the world. This enables you to
effectively order products from USA-only merchants. However, all the
companies (such as http://www.usabox.com/) I have found offer high
monthly service plans rather than one-time shipping. Can you find an
affordable company that offers just one-time shipping?

---

Clarification of Answer by joey-ga on 07 Jun 2004 13:24 PDT

Another researcher forwarded to me a grocery store online located in
Canada that appears to ship to most countries of the world (the UK
included).  It is the "Whistler Grocery Store", and the apple chip
product page is located at the following URL:

     http://www.whistlergrocery.com/grocery/search.asp?search=apple+chip

They offer several varieties (caramel, cinnamon, golden delicious,
granny smith, honey, and "original").

Will this satisfy your interest?  If not, I will continue to search
for re-shippers as you wish.

--Joey

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Clarification of Answer by joey-ga on 09 Jun 2004 13:02 PDT

By the way, I haven't forgotten about finding the UK distributor for
Seneca's chips.  I have been playing "telephone tag" with their
international rep, who I am told will have some information for me.

---

Clarification of Answer by joey-ga on 10 Jun 2004 14:48 PDT

I finally made contact with their rep and received this email from her:

"Right now we do not have distribution in the UK but I am currently in
discussion with a company there to get started.  Hopefully, there will
be chips there soon for your friend to buy.  

Unfortunately, we do not accept international orders for personal
consumption.  It becomes so cost prohibitive for the consumers that it
just doesn't make it worthwhile."

Unfortunately this part of the investigation didn't go well.  I hope
that the Canadian grocery listed above will be able to satisfy your
needs.  If not, please let me know, and I will investigate
re-shippers.

I apologize for the trouble.

--Joey

---

Request for Answer Clarification by kmander-ga on 27 Jul 2004 19:53 PDT

I now find myself in Australia for the next few months. On compling
your research, did you ever find a Austrailian merchant which stocked
this item? If not, would you be willing to search one out? I can
provide another $4 if sucessful.

---

Clarification of Answer by joey-ga on 27 Jul 2004 21:07 PDT

I did a bit of research, and as for Europe, the results are limited for Australia.

However, based on this discussion board posting:
http://www.vogue.com.au/forum/viewtopic.php?mode=viewtopic&topic=32171&forum=38

in 2003, there appeared to be apple chips of some brand advertised and
available wideley in Australia, including at a supermarket chain
called Cole's.  I checked Cole's online, and they didn't list that
product, but it's possible they still stock it in the stores:
    http://www.coles.com.au/   (the main site)
    http://www.colesonline.com.au/  (the e-commerce site)

I additionally came across a company called Diternal Foods, based in
Australia, that appears to produce apple chips:
    http://www.safoodonline.com/buyers_hub/businesses/diternalfoods/

but additional information on the company or their products is scant. 
I have contacted Diternal to see if they still produce their apple
chips, and if they are available in most grocery stores.

What part of Australia will you be visiting (in case the Diternal
representative asks me)?

I will post here when I have additional information, and I hope the
trip planning is going well :-).

--Joey

---

Clarification of Answer by joey-ga on 28 Jul 2004 11:05 PDT

I got this response from Diternal Foods:

"Yes, we do still produce Tree-Treats Apple Chips and they are sold in
parts of Australia. If you let me know where you are I will be able to
advise where you may buy them."

If you can let me know where you will be, I will check with them and
let you know where you can purchase them.

---

Request for Answer Clarification by kmander-ga on 28 Jul 2004 16:08 PDT

Newtown, Sydney to be exact. I am willing to travel anywhere in Sydney.

---

Clarification of Answer by joey-ga on 30 Jul 2004 02:04 PDT

Hi there.  The representative from Diternal Foods responded:

"The nearest retailer I know of would be Horace's Fruitorium on
Pacific Highway, St. Leonards, or failing that one of our
distributors, Kit Peters at Lane Cove: phone (02) 9427 2280."

Horace's Fruitorium is at 205 Pacific Hwy in (or adjacent to) the St.
Leonard's train station

I checked an Australian mapping site, and St. Leonards appears to be
about 11 kilometres from Newtown.

Here are driving directions and a map from Whereis.com.au:

[http://www.whereis.com.au/whereis/mapping/geocodeAddressesForDirections.do?brandid=1&fromStreetNumber=&fromStreetName=&fromPoiType=&fromSuburb=newtown%2C+sydney&fromState=New+South+Wales&fromLocation=-33.897104%7C151.179752%7C%7C%7CCity+Center%7C%7CNewtown%7CNew+South+Wales&toStreetNumber=&toStreetName=herbert+street&toPoiType=&toSuburb=st.+leonards%2C+sydney&toState=New+South+Wales&toLocation=-3
3.8235%7C151.193925%7C%7C%7CHerbert+Street%7C%7CSt+Leonards%7CNew+South+Wales&modeOfTransport=2&x=51&y=7]