Teddy’s Tallow Chips wasn’t born from a business plan, but rather from necessity. When Teddy Horvath was little, even a single pretzel or potato chip could send him into a spiral of hives and wheezing. Diagnosed with asthma and severe food allergies, he couldn’t tolerate gluten, eggs, dairy, or most processed foods. "He would literally break out in hives and couldn’t breathe," recalls his mom, Katherine Horvath. "It was crazy." Katherine rolled up her sleeves and started creating suitable alternatives, experimenting with recipes and even frying homemade chips to give her son snacks he could safely enjoy. One day, on the advice of her grandmother, she tried cooking potatoes in beef tallow, an age-old cooking fat. To their surprise, Teddy could eat the chips without getting sick. "That was the seed of the story," Katherine said. Time went on, and Teddy eventually learned to manage his health, avoiding the worst triggers and living without symptoms. But the memory of those tallow-fried chips lingered. Early in 2025, Teddy came back to his mom with an idea: "Mom, I think America is realizing how good tallow is, and how bad vegetable oils and seed oils are. Let’s make our chips again." He mocked up a bag design, sketched out a plan, and asked if she was in. "I said, ‘Teddy, I’m on board. Let’s go.’" Only a few months later, Teddy’s Tallow Chips has gone from a homegrown idea to one of Wisconsin’s buzziest new snack companies.