2009: Frito-Lay Year in Review

2009 was an exciting year for me personally, as I retired from Frito-Lay, entered the blogosphere, and welcomed two new grandsons into the family. It’s also been a big year for Frito-Lay, and I've enjoyed tracking our news, events and product launches on Snack Chat.  I'm amazed at and proud of all we’ve accomplished, so I thought I'd wrap up the year with a look back at, in my opinion, some of Frito-Lay’s highlights. 

New Products and Promotions

"What's new?" is the question I’m asked most frequently and is the topic that gets the most comments from readers here.  Some of my favorite product news from 2009 . . .

• Doritos Late Night and Baked! Lay's Southwestern Ranch: These are two of Frito-Lay's most popular new flavors.  Each reflects how today's consumers are increasingly looking for products made just for them -– Doritos Late Night targets the Millennial generation, while Baked! Lay's appeals especially to adult women.
• Tostitos Restaurant Style Salsa: This was, by far, the “new” product that received the most praise from consumers this year.  We discontinued it a few years ago, but reintroduced it following a flood of letters and calls from our consumers.
• Promotions: This year, our promotions ranged from sharing inspiring stories collected in the True North Stories of the Month program to creating exciting in-store programs for Labor Day, Halloween and football season to engaging consumers in the Doritos Crash the Super Bowl contest.  The Lay's Across America campaign, which featured the efforts of our more than 40,000 employees and the American farmers who grow the potatoes that become Lay’s potato chips, let consumers track where their Lay’s potato chips were made –- usually pretty close to home!

Environmental Sustainability

I am very proud of the strides Frito-Lay made as we continued to be a corporate leader in environmental sustainability. My favorites include:

• Progress at our Casa Grande, Ariz., Plant: I blogged about the great work our employees at our Casa Grande plant are doing to bring together many of Frito-Lay’s sustainability efforts, minimizing our footprint on the planet by reducing energy consumption, water usage and landfill waste.
• Fuel Conservation Initiatives: I also blogged about how Frito-Lay is working to improve the fuel efficiency of our sizable fleet by adopting new fuel-efficient Sprinter trucks, testing Smith electric vehicles and enhancing maintenance routines for our existing fleet. 
• Progress on the SunChips Compostable Bag: Possibly the biggest environmental breakthrough this year was the progress on our SunChips packaging. This year was just the first step in our goal to bring a fully compostable bag to market next year. Today, one-third of the large SunChips bag is compostable, and our goal is for it to be fully compostable by Earth Day 2010.

Employer of Choice 

Frito-Lay strives to attract the most talented people because we know they will lead us to continued success.  I blogged about some of the top programs designed to ensure that we attract, retain and support our employees. A quick recap . . .

• Diversity & Inclusion: Over the last decade, Frito-Lay elevated its diversity and inclusion efforts, ensuring they are a top priority. You can see our progress in action when you look at the various employee resource groups in place at Frito-Lay/PepsiCo.  This year, I blogged about a couple of the groups, including Adelante (our Hispanic/Latino network) and RISE (our Native American network).
• Servant Leadership: Like Frito-Lay President and Chairman Al Carey, I believe that the future for business lies in adopting servant leadership. In a servant leadership-minded culture, it’s the role of the manager to support his/her employees giving them the resources they need to do their jobs and removing obstacles that get in their way.
• Women Trailblazers: Probably some of my most candid blog posts this year featured women leaders at Frito-Lay and their views on the evolving role of women in business over the last decade, the importance of mentors and the challenges they face -– and have overcome -- balancing their professional and family lives. 

I've also had fun this year sharing tales from my vacations (including one to Italy, where this photo of me and my wife, Janis, at Mt. Vesuvius was taken), offering fun snack recipes for the holidays and providing personal insights as I transitioned into retirement after working at Frito-Lay for 30 years.  Plus, I've welcomed a few guest bloggers who offered fresh perspectives on topics important to us -- most notably Diane from “Fit to the Finish,” who shared her amazing weight-loss journey and healthy eating advice.

When I started writing on Snack Chat last January, my goal was to tell Frito-Lay’s story authenticly and informally, and give you a “peek under the tent” of the happenings at Frito-Lay.  I hope I've accomplished that, and I look forward to blogging with you more in 2010.

Happy New Year!

Comments

[Cheryl Kowing]

I want to know why potato chips aren't sold in reclosable bags... I have wondered why for years. It's a pain to try and just send an email, they want all this info off the current bag, and all I had was a question! Hope somebody out there can give me an answer... Cheryl

[Kristin]

Hi, Cheryl. After conducting years of research on a zipper type of closure, we found that the it had no more impact on freshness than simply folding the bag and sealing it with a chip clip. However, we continue to do research on resealable package options, as different improved materials and technology are available. Thanks for the question!

[Barry Tuohig]

Thank You! Thank You! Thank You - For bringing back the best potato chip Frito Lay has ever made, the Deli Style Potato Chip. It has been a few years since they were discontinued in the Salt Lake City area. Hopefully more people will find out about the Deli Style chip to increase the market share and keep them coming. Is the arrival of the Deli Style chip only temporary, or long term.

Thanks again, Barry!

[Amanda Prouse]

I really like the blue package dorities the best too because doritie chips and they put seasons on the chips. I really lihe Dorities because i think it is good for your body,healthy for you,and makes you grow more and more. I really like Chetoss also because Chetoss are crunchy and really good for your body and also Chetoss has chezze on. Please send me a reply to this comment as soon as possible. I want to know what you think about my comment

[Kristin]

Amanda, thanks for your comments. We're glad to hear you've enjoyed the special flavors we brought back last year, and hope you enjoy the new flavors we'll introduce and flavors we'll bring back again this year. Thanks again.