SmartFood Coupons: Bringing Consumers Value

A couple of weeks ago, I blogged about the launch of SmartFood, our new line of sweet popcorn clusters developed with women in mind and offering nutritional benefits like 5g of fiber per serving.  Now is an especially great time to try the snack, since the SmartSource Web site features a coupon you can download for $1 off your next SmartFood purchase.

The Frito-Lay Women's Portfolio team -- a smart, fun-loving business team nicknamed the Trailblazers and pictured at left -- is working hard to ensure women try SmartFood and all of the great Frito-Lay snacks that appeal to women. 

You may have seen the free standing insert (FSI) and $1 off coupon for SmartFood in last Sunday’s paper.  Or, maybe the in-store displays featuring coupons on tear pads have caught your attention lately while you’ve been shopping.

I think the easiest way to take advantage of the SmartFood offer is to download the $1 off coupon from SmartSource, an innovative site that provides printable grocery coupons.  Right now, you’ll find a coupon for SmartFood and for two other “better-for-you” snacks from Frito-Lay -– Baked! Lay's potato crisps and Flat Earth veggie crisps. 

“Distribution of online coupons at SmartSource.com has tripled in the last year,” says Chris Dungan, VP and General Sales Manager of News America, the company that operates SmartSource.com, “although free standing inserts (like you’d find in newspapers) remain the primary source for coupons.”

In fact, all coupon usage is increasing, due largely to consumers who are watching their spending extra carefully amid the current economic environment.  Inmar, a leader in providing technology-driven reverse logistics and supply chain solutions, measures coupon redemptions and reports that in the fourth quarter of 2008, coupon use jumped 10 percent after years of decline. That trend continues this year.

I saw firsthand the decline in coupon use years ago, when I was part of the Frito-Lay Marketing team.  Few marketers offered coupons online because neither the technology nor the consumer interest was there.

But now, women ages of 25 to 54 with at least one child, make up 20 percent of active Internet users and "wield a record level of online influence that continues to grow," according to AC Nielsen.  Now that our consumers are actively online, it’s a prime time to leverage sites like SmartSource and bring value to the people who love our products, or want to try them, by making available easy-to-download coupons.

Comments

[Cass]

OK, I appreciate the concept of healthy foods, but have you looked at the fat percentage of these foods? I try to eat foods that are only 30% or less fat. What has happened to Olean? I loved WOW and all the different chips made with it. I went through the change to calling it "Light" instead of WOW. Now, I can't find any chips made with Olean. Baked chips do not have the same satisfaction as the Olean made chips.

[Michael K]

Cass -- this is Michael with the Snack Chat team. I wanted to let you know that Lay's Light and Ruffles Light are still available in many parts of the country. You can check the "Where to Buy" section of www.fritolay.com to see which stores in your area carry them.

Also, regarding the new SmartFood popcorn clusters, I think you'll be pleasantly surprised to learn that all three flavors -- Cranberry Almond, Honey Multigrain and Chocolate Cookie Caramel Pecan -- contain 2 grams of fat or less. That's just 3% of the recommended daily value. They also include 5 grams of fiber and 20% of the recommended daily value of calcium per serving. I hope you'll give them a try!

[Dominique]

The Smart Food popcorn clusters are fabulous!! Recently my husband became a cardiac patient & we have made drastic changes to our diets. Thank you for providing something he actually LIKES! These are the perfect snack. However, I find it hard to find them here in the Phoenix area. I am asking my grocery stores to stock them. Please work on the marketing here in Arizona. I can not stand for them to go away.