Snack Chat

Getting Your Veggies the Easy Way

When I was a kid I hated vegetables, and I'm not that crazy about them today.  So it's difficult for me to believe the fact that Flat Earth veggie crisps, which taste great, actually provide one-half of a serving of vegetables in every ounce.

In our family, my dislike of vegetables is legendary.  My mother loved to tell the story about the time I was a young child and my grandmother tried to feed me beets.  I kept spitting them out -- projectile spitting them out -- so the kitchen and my grandmother were totally covered with a dark red mess when my mom came home from shopping.

I still dislike beets but do my best to include other vegetables in my diet, since the USDA Food Pyramid tells me that they're good for me. Fortunately my wife, Janis, is a great cook, and she does the best job possible to make vegetables palatable by adding cheese, butter, garlic and various spices.

Two years ago, Frito-Lay made eating vegetables a whole lot easier when it invented Flat Earth veggie crisps.  The key marketing challenge with the new product was that consumers like me found it hard to believe that a snack that contained one-half of a serving of real vegetables per ounce actually tasted good. So the tagline "Impossibly Good" was born.

"Our consumers really study the back of the bag and read the nutritional statement carefully, because they just find our story hard to believe," says Jen Saenz, Flat Earth Marketing Manager.  "But gradually we're winning over consumers who like to snack and are looking for positive nutrition.  They're eating Flat Earth veggie crisps with their sandwiches or as an afternoon snack."   

Jen also says, "When we talked to women last year, they asked for a spicy version of the veggie crisps.  So this month we're replacing the fruit crisps we previously offered with a new flavor of the Flat Earth veggie crisps -- Spicy Salsa.  They're made with the same seasoning technology as Baked Lay's Southwestern Ranch -- the flavor is baked right into the chip, instead of seasoning it after baking, for superior taste.  In addition, we've simplified the packaging graphics to make Flat Earth easier to find on store shelves and to better communicate that they are made with real vegetables." 

You can read more about Flat Earth and other healthier snacking options at the Only in a Woman's World Web site, which features fun webisodes about the adventures of four women and the humorous moments they experience together.

Last weekend, I tried Flat Earth Spicy Salsa veggie crisps for the first time, and they tasted great.  Although I may not be the target consumer, I think they'll be a hit with women and other consumers looking for healthier snacking options.  I also hope that our new graphics will make it easier for shoppers to find them in stores.  What do you think of the new Flat Earth flavor, Spicy Salsa, and the new packaging graphics?   

Safety First

Janis and our four adult children will tell you our family has two mottos: "Life is for the living" and "Safety first."  When our kids were young, I'd wake them up in the morning by opening the blinds in their bedrooms and calling out, "Get up, life is for the living."  And whenever we'd go out on our boat, a favorite family pastime, I'd remind them to think, "Safety first."

I'm particularly serious about the "safety first" motto and am proud to say that I haven't had a car accident or a speeding ticket in more than 30 years (unless you count last month when I backed my car into a tree).

“Safety first” is also a guiding principle for every part of the Frito-Lay business –- and a motto that our people know and practice daily.  As good as my safety record is, I am an amateur compared to the 300-plus over-the-road (OTR) Frito-Lay truck drivers who have logged at least 1 million miles without an incident. 

On average, it takes an OTR driver 10 years to log 1 million miles, and thanks to the safety programs put in place here – including dedicated training programs that focus on collision prevention, driving ergonomics and “close quarter” truck maneuvering skill development -- Frito-Lay has realized a 64 percent decline in collisions over the past decade. 

Earlier this month, Frito-Lay inducted more than 90 of our OTR drivers into Frito-Lay Million Milers Club, including Deb Davis (pictured in her truck), an OTR driver who works out of Frito-Lay's Beloit, Wisc., manufacturing plant and delivers our snacks to sales locations throughout the Midwest.  She has achieved 26 years of safe driving, and reached the 2 million mile, incident free, milestone in 2008.

"The key to safe driving is to take your time, and if the weather gets too bad, just pull into a motel and wait it out," says Deb, who drives an International with a stick shift while listening to Road Dog Trucking on SIRIUS Satellite radio. 

"People ask me when I'm going to retire, and I tell them my goal is to achieve 3 million accident-free miles," Deb says. "I love traveling and being on the open road.  I tell people it's interesting because the scenery is always changing.  The clouds aren’t the same every day, and at night -- sometimes I'm chasing the moon, and sometimes it's chasing me."

It's obvious that Deb follows the “safety first” motto that my family has heard me advocate many times over the years.  But it's clear in seeing the enthusiasm she has her job that Deb also lives the other Philips family motto, “Life is for the living." 

Listen to Deb and learn more about her career as an OTR driver at Frito-Lay and what keeps her coming back with a smile everyday.

Aquafina Introduces the new Eco-Fina Bottle

Aquafina, the best selling brand of bottled water in North America and a product of our sister company, Pepsi-Cola, is launching the Eco-Fina Bottle.  It's the lightest-weight half-liter bottle of any nationally distributed bottled water brand sold in stores today -- made with 50 percent less plastic than the half-liter Aquafina bottles produced just a few years ago.  The savings will eliminate nearly 75 million pounds of plastic per year!

The efforts to make the Aquafina brand more sustainable began in 2002, when PepsiCo teams started working on plans to develop the lightest and one of the most environmentally friendly bottles in the market. You will find the Eco-Fina Bottle in 24-packs at stores nationwide, starting in April this year.

Read more about the Eco-Fina Bottle from the Wall Street Journal and the Associated Press. 

Getting to Know Frito-Lay Consumer Affairs

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

Ready for Retirement

After 30 years, today is my last day as a Frito-Lay employee.  While I'll admit to having a huge knot in my stomach, I believe that when one door closes, another one opens -- and I'm ready to embrace the uncertainty of what's on the other side of that door.

Two weeks ago, the Marketing department gave me a wonderful send-off, which my colleagues in Marketing, our Executive Committee, my dear friends who have retired from Frito-Lay, my wife, Janis, our children, son-in-law and grandchildren attended.  It was a memorable evening for me, and my boss and our Chief Marketing Officer, Jaya Kumar, and Frito-Lay's CEO, Al Carey, were very gracious in their comments.  Plus, our daughter, Kristen, brought the house to tears with her loving tribute.   

Then it was my turn to take the floor, and I started by telling everyone why I loved working at Frito-Lay -- the reasons that kept me here for 30 years -- and the same reasons I give to people considering Frito-Lay for their careers:

• I respect and like the people that I work with.
• Since you end up spending more time during the week with people at work than with your family (unfortunately), I’m glad that Frito-Lay is a very embracing culture full of incredible people. Their work ethics, results-orientated personalities, positive outlooks, values and senses of humor are incomparable.

I was excited about the job I went to do, everyday. 

I think it’s important to get up each day and be thinking about the day ahead at work, anxious to get started.  I have been fortunate at Frito-Lay to have a series of different jobs that challenged me, allowed me to grow and genuinely excited me almost every morning.

When I did a great job, I had the opportunity to advance. 

The potential for advancement has a lot to do with the industry you are in, the overall success of your company and your personal results and contributions.  Fortunately for me, Frito-Lay has continued to grow and prosper during my career here, which has helped open advancement opportunities as I’ve grown and gained critical experiences.

So, that's why I've been with Frito-Lay for 30 years.  And to set the stage for seeing what's on the other side of my new door, I've set three goals for myself in retirement.

First, maintain both physical and mental health.  I’ll continue my healthy diet and exercise -- I bike quite a bit now.  To stay mentally sharp, I’ll keep reading and will still be the Snack Chat Chief Blogger.  I’ll also continue amateur photography. (I took the picture on the left and “Photoshopped” it.)

Second, spend more time with family and friends.  It’s most important that I continue to build my wonderful marriage with Janis, my wife of 34 years.  We're looking forward to traveling together and with friends.  We're also blessed with four children, their spouses and four grandsons -- our youngest grandson was just born this month (David Philips the VI, yep, the VI).

Third, give back to the community.  For the last year, I have been on the Brand Leadership Council at the United Way of Metropolitan Dallas, and I plan to expand my volunteer activities with them.  I've always enjoyed helping with start-up advocacy programs at Frito-Lay, and I know I’ll enjoy helping the United Way launch new initiatives too.

I'm sure not everything will happen in retirement exactly the way I've planned.  But I'm ready to embrace the uncertainty of my new life after Frito-Lay.  So open the door, I’m ready to see the other side.