Laura Clough Scudder (July 19, 1881 – March 13, 1959) was an entrepreneur in Monterey Park, California,[1] who made and sold potato chips and pioneered their packaging in sealed bags to extend freshness.

Clough moved south with her husband in 1920, to Monterey Park, California, where Charles ran a gas station (a garage and attached brick building at the northeast corner of Atlantic and Garvey)[2][3] until he was disabled repairing a car.

[9] Laura Scudder started having her workers to take home sheets of wax paper and iron them into the form of bags, which were filled with chips at her factory the next day.

[12] The Laura Scudder Potato Chip Factory was at Garvey Avenue east of Atlantic Boulevard, Monterey Park, in the 1920s.

[13] She expanded into peanut butter and mayonnaise in order to keep her workforce employed year round since potato chips tended to sell best during summertime.

Ingredients like butter and fresh eggs were scarce during World War II due to rationing for civilians because of the effort to supply the needs of military personnel.

[14]At one point, Scudder turned down a $9 million offer for the company because the buyer would not guarantee her employees' jobs.

[17] To avoid union issues, Borden closed all California plants of Laura Scudder Inc. only a year later.

At the same time (2010), it appeared the original Laura Scudder's brand was being actively marketed by a Californian company.