I’m Cathy Dial, director of Consumer Affairs at Frito-Lay, and the Snack Chat team invited me to be a guest blogger so I could answer some of the common questions we receive, such as, “Why do some products get discontinued?” And, “Why are some products or flavors only available in certain cities or stores?”
Our nearly 50-person Consumer Affairs team is responsible for listening and responding to our consumers who have comments, questions or concerns about our products or our company. I’ve been a PepsiCo employee for 26 years; I started at Pepsi Cola and transitioned to Frito-Lay 13 years ago.
Most consumers reach us by calling our toll-free number -- which can be found on the back of all of our packages. We also receive e-mails through the “Contact Us” form found on the Frito-Lay Web site. And, amazingly, we still receive communication from consumers the old-fashioned way, hand-written letters with a stamp on the envelope.
Our team receives all types of questions and comments from consumers, ranging from positive feedback on a new snack to questions about the ingredients in our products to suggestions about new flavors they’d like us to offer to -- of course -- the occasional complaint (flavors they didn’t like, difficulty finding a particular snack, etc). Sometimes other employees jokingly call us the “Complaint Department.”
That’s OK though, because we’re here to listen to consumers, whatever their comments may be -- complaints, questions and concerns -- because consumer feedback about our products is critical to our success. It helps us understand what consumers experience when they buy and eat our products and enables us to address their issues and use their feedback to continuously make our snacks even better.
One of Frito-Lay’s hallmarks is continuously offering a wide variety of innovative snack choices. While Lay’s Classic, Doritos Nacho Cheese and Cheetos Crunchy are longtime favorites, we’ve learned that consumers want variety -- from new flavors of our original snacks to new brands and healthier options. So, we often introduce new products.
As you might expect, not every snack sells equally well and not every new product is successful. Decisions about what is available on store shelves varies by location, depending on consumer interest, basically, what our consumers buy. If a product does not sell well, it may be discontinued. And, because consumers in different parts of the country have different flavor and snacking preferences, some products are only available in certain areas.
For instance, Tostitos Light was recently discontinued because of very slow sales. As a result, consumers have been sharing their disappointment with us. It’s always a tough decision to discontinue a product or offer it in select locations, since we know it’s a favorite for someone.
We also often receive questions from consumers about where to buy a specific Frito-Lay product. If you are looking for a specific product in your area, you can search by your zip code using the “Product Locator” on www.fritolay.com (“where to buy” link). It’s the same system we use to answer questions when consumers call and e-mail us, asking where to find a specific snack. We update the system weekly to provide consumers with the latest information.
The Frito-Lay Web site has been designed to provide consumers with easy access to some of the most common questions that my team answers everyday in Consumer Affairs. If you can’t find the answer to your question, or have a comment to share with us, we’d like to hear from you (click here to be linked to our “Contact Us” form). We’ll do our best to answer your questions and concerns in a prompt manner. Whether positive or negative, the comments we hear from our consumers are invaluable to us and are shared broadly within the company.
We look forward to hearing from you -- just visit our e-mail response page or call the number on the back of your next bag of Frito-Lay chips.
- Cathy Dial
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