Snack Chat

Frito-Lay Trailblazer: Sabrina Kephart

Over the next couple of weeks, I'll be blogging about some of the many women at Frito-Lay who are blazing new trails in business, including the unique challenges they face and how they're overcoming them.  Today, I’m blogging about Sabrina Kephart, a Registered Dietitian with the American Dietetic Association and member of our Research nutrition team.

A few months ago, as part of my speech at my retirement party, I pulled out an article published 30 years ago in Frito-Lay's employee magazine about the nutritional attributes of Frito-Lay’s potato chips.  The article noted that our potato chips have less sodium than people might think and are made from simple ingredients, just potatoes, oil and salt/seasoning.  Many of these facts are part of our newest marketing efforts today, and my point in sharing the article (older people like me love to make points) is that most “new” things are not really new. 

But, as I look at what Frito-Lay is doing today in the area of nutrition, I've changed my mind and think there really is a lot that is new.  While we have a long tradition of being committed to health and wellness, today, we’re doing more than ever.  For instance, we switched to heart-healthy oils, and are developing new, better-for-you products, like SmartFood Popcorn Clusters, Flat Earth Veggie Crisps and TrueNorth premium nut snacks.    

One of today’s thought leaders in health and wellness at Frito-Lay is Sabrina Kephart, a Registered Dietitian on our Research nutrition team.  I spoke with Sabrina (pictured at left with her husband, Alex) last week before she takes maternity leave.  (She’s expecting a girl in July and is keeping the baby's name a secret from her friends and family.  I couldn't convince her to let me disclose it here on Snack Chat!)

"When I tell people I work for Frito-Lay, the first thing they ask me is, ‘Why does Frito-Lay need a nutritionist?’" Sabrina told me.  "So, I give them an example: Recently I worked with the Marketing team to design a snack with nutritional attributes that appeal to women.  After talking with women and evaluating ingredients, we decided to create a portion-controlled snack that contains good sources of calcium and fiber and helps manage calories.  And, SmartFood Popcorn Clusters was born.”

Besides developing new products, Sabrina works with the Frito-Lay Packaging team to ensure that the nutrition information on our packaging is accurate, clear to consumers and complies with FDA regulations.  She also helps ensure our snacks that are available in schools comply with schools’ nutrition guidelines.

I asked Sabrina, who’s been with Frito-Lay for four years, if she has faced any unique challenges as a woman.  "I've never thought about that question," Sabrina told me. "So I guess the answer is, ‘no.’ I've heard stories from other women that it was different around here even 10 years ago, but there has been a lot of progress in bringing women into the company and setting them up for success.  My boss is a woman.  I'd still like to see more women role models in senior management positions, but I'd say my major concern right now is how I'll maintain my own work-life balance after my daughter is born."

Sabrina's perspective illustrates the progress at Frito-Lay –- and in much of the business world -- in developing and supporting women.  And, although it remains an ongoing journey, the company has worked hard to develop different work-life balance options for employees, especially for those balancing careers with parenthood. 

To help Sabrina with her personal journey, I contacted Charlotte Wheat, the trailblazer I blogged about last week who is president of Frito-Lay’s network for female employees, and she is going to connect Sabrina with Frito-Lay’s new mom's club, a group of women transitioning from maternity leave back to work.  I’m sure Sabrina will manage just fine in her own transition and that her success in business will carry-over to her success as a new mother.

In the next Trailblazers article, I'll provide a very different look at Frito-Lay from the perspective of Cindi Evans, who works in our field Sales organization.  Tell me about women trailblazers who have influenced your life.

Green Effect Finalists Lobbying for Support

Yesterday on Snack Chat, we blogged about the 10 Green Effect Finalists -- 10 people vying for one of five $20,000 grants to help make their "green" ideas a reality in their communities. And, as the finalist voting phase of the program kicked-off this week, we’re excited to see our finalists are out and about in their communities, lobbying for support. 

Finalist Tricia Elisara from Julian Elementary, with the idea of creating green classroom party kits, helped create local grassroots buzz this past weekend at her town’s Fourth of July parade. Good luck, Tricia, and to all of the finalists.  Stay tuned, and we'll post the winners and their ideas here on Snack Chat on July 22.

Green Effect Finalists Announced: Vote Now!

Yesterday, SunChips and National Geographic announced the 10 finalists competing for five $20,000 grants to turn their “green” ideas into reality as part of Green Effect, a national initiative Dave Philips, our chief blogger, wrote about a couple of months ago.

Green Effect kicked-off on Earth Day, when SunChips and National Geographic invited consumers across the country to submit their ideas on how to make their communities greener.  Consumers responded with 2,500 ideas, ranging from re-treeing neighborhoods to creating composting programs.

Now, it’s time for all you green enthusiasts to read the 10 finalists’ ideas and vote for your favorite.  The finalist who gets the most votes from consumers will win one of the $20,000 grants, and our panel of environmental experts and champions, including Academy Award winner Edward Norton, will select the other four winners from the remaining finalists.

You have until July 20 to vote for your favorite “green” idea. So go to the Green Effect Web site, check out the 10 finalists and vote now!  And be sure to check back here July 22 to find out who won!

Frito-Lay Trailblazer: Charlotte Wheat

Over the next couple of weeks, I'll be blogging about some of the many women at Frito-Lay who are blazing new trails in business, including the unique challenges they face and how they're overcoming them, starting today with Charlotte Wheat, Frito-Lay's Director of Financial Planning and President of our Women’s Initiative Network (WIN) employee group.

About 12 years ago, I began to see a major shift in the recruitment and promotion of women into leadership roles at Frito-Lay -- all levels and in all functions.  We began by acknowledging the obvious -- women in business face unique challenges, such as resistance to women’s leadership, differences in leadership style and demands of family life.  Alice H. Eagly and Linda L. Carli do an excellent job of objectively discussing such challenges and offering corporations advice in an article in the Harvard Business Review titled, "Women and the Labyrinth of Leadership."

To start to address these challenges, we set aggressive goals for hiring, retaining and promoting women, established training programs and developed WIN to foster support and mentoring among our female employees.  I attended part of the national kick-off of WIN 12 years ago and recall the tremendous outpouring of support for the new organization -- from both women and men.

We’ve come a long way in 12 years. Today, PepsiCo (Frito-Lay’s parent company) is led by a woman, Indra Nooyi, and WIN is stronger than ever, with approximately 400 members across the company. Recently I caught up with Charlotte Wheat, WIN's current president (pictured below with her husband, Bob, and two sons).

"This year, we surveyed women at Frito-Lay about how WIN could best meet their needs," Charlotte told me.  "They told us our mission should be to help Frito-Lay women grow confidence and build the skills they need to become the leaders of tomorrow. 

"To fulfill that mission, WIN runs ongoing leadership programs, supports the business by providing insights and perspectives that help Frito-Lay develop and market snacks especially for women, and is actively involved in Susan G. Komen and the Girl Scouts, two organizations with long-standing commitments to women."

Charlotte is an excellent role model to be leading WIN, because she herself is a trailblazer.  She started her career at Frito-Lay 13 years ago in a male-dominated field of contract manufacturing, where she had the fun assignment to help with the acquisition of Cracker Jack.  Her career has steadily progressed and today is in a lynchpin leadership role in the Company.  She and her team work with all departments to explain financial results and forecast upcoming sales and expenses for the entire company.

"One of the biggest improvements in the last decade is that there are now women role models in senior level positions at Frito-Lay who have successful careers and family lives.  They provide young women with practical advise on leadership skills needed to progress and tips on how they've succeeded.  Most importantly, they provide the aspiration that I can achieve the same thing.

"In addition, functions like Manufacturing -- that are very male dominated -- have taken womens' feedback from organizational health surveys and developed very specific programs to retain and help women advance their careers." 

Charlotte also works at balancing her professional and family life -- raising two active sons ages five and seven.  "I don't try to be supermon, but make sure that I'm very involved with my children and don't miss important events" Charlotte told me. "And my husband Bob is very active with the kids.  He has an art degree and volunteers once a month at their school to teach art."

So Charlotte has successfully transitioned from wanting role models to being one herself.  Over the next few weeks I'll introduce you to other trailblazers, starting next week with Sabrina Kephart, who is trailblazing in the field of nutrition.  Who have been the women trailblazers that you most admire? 

Mix up your July 4th Snacking with Stacy's Pita Chips & Sabra Hummus

Whenever we have company at our lake house in East Texas, my wife, Janis, loves to whip-up new menu items.  She is an outstanding chef -- she and our daughter Kristen even compiled "The Philips Family Cookbook," a collection of our four kids’ favorite recipes and family photos from when they were young.  The true measure of success in the kitchen is when a visitor asks Janis for one of her recipes. 

While we love having company at the lake house, frankly, it’s a lot of work, too.  So, we're always looking for shortcuts, especially in the kitchen.  That's why this July 4th weekend, when we're entertaining our dear friends the Ambrites, we'll serve something a little different than usual as dinner appetizers -- Stacy's Pita Chips, Sabra Hummus and assorted cheeses.  

Stacy's Pita Chips are baked snacks made from all-natural pita.  When we serve them to our guests, they are usually surprised, since many people are not familiar with pita chips and don’t know that the Stacy’s brand is part of the Frito-Lay family.  Christina Menendez, Marketing Manager for Stacy's, tells me that only one out of three people know what a pita chip is. Well, now you know.

I suspect that even fewer people are familiar with Sabra Hummus -- cooked and pureed chickpeas with spices added for flavor -– or know that it’s now part of the Frito-Lay family, too. The pita chips and hummus are both healthy and delicious – a nice surprise.   

I'm really looking forward to this July 4th weekend (see photo at right for a view from our lake house porch).  Bob Ambrite and I have been friends for 35 years, and as the saying goes -- there's no friend like old friend.  In fact, Bob and Janis' sister, Patti, introduced Janis and me to each other, and the rest is history!

So, this holiday weekend, as we catch-up with friends, go boating and watch fireworks, we’ll also be eating -- and showing-off Stacy’s and Sabra to some more friends.  Have you tried Stacy’s Pita Chips and Sabra Hummus?