Frito-Lay Encourages Women to "Be Fearless" in the Fight Against Breast Cancer

The young people working in Frito-Lay Marketing continue to prove me wrong -- and I couldn't be happier. 

For most of the 30 years I worked at Frito-Lay, I adhered to the old-school notion that the only role of a business is to make money for its shareholders.  But many of today's young people -- deemed the Millennial generation -- have a different philosophy and are proving that corporate support for social causes can be the right thing to do for consumers, customers, shareholders and employees.  They're teaching baby boomers like me a good lesson.

A great example of this lesson is Frito-Lay’s partnership with Susan G. Komen for the Cure this year: We’re donating $1 million to fund educational materials for early detection and prevention of breast cancer.  In addition, we're launching an in-store program in which our displays feature pink ribbon packaging on SunChips and Baked! Lay’s, and offer materials encouraging women to "Be Fearless" in the fight against breast cancer.

I've already seen pink ribbon bags of Baked! Lay's in my grocery store, and the back panel of the bag includes the tip: 

"Learn to administer a breast self exam by visiting www.komen.org and Spread the word about early detection to your friends and loved ones."

I’m impressed with these bags and the display designs because they’re helping increase awareness and teaching women the steps to "Be Fearless" in the fight against breast cancer by incorporating lifestyle practices that aid in early detection of the disease.

I spoke with Nicolle Poole, Associate Brand Manager for SunChips and a Millennial, and she explained why the bags and in-store displays are critical to our ability to spread the message about breast cancer prevention: "According to the American Cancer Society, the single most important thing for women to know is that they must get screened regularly for breast cancer because it is the best way to lower their risk of dying from the disease. When breast cancer is found before it spreads beyond the breast, the five-year survival rate in the U.S. is 98 percent -- up from 74 percent in 1982.”

"We also know that loyal SunChips consumers are more inclined to buy products that are associated with causes they believe in.  So it's a win-win -- building our brands and helping fight breast cancer at the same time," Nicolle said.

Nicolle also told me that Frito-Lay’s "Be Fearless" program includes participating in select Race for the Cure events around the country, including the race near our Frito-Lay Headquarters office in Plano, Texas, on June 12th.  Last year, a group of 200 people (employees and their family members) participated with Team Frito-Lay in the Plano race, and they’re hoping for an even greater turnout this year. 

Like many of you, I have seen personally the terrifying impact of breast cancer on friends and family members.  So I'm pleased to see Millennials like Nicolle helping build our company while supporting a great cause like Susan G. Komen for the Cure. 

Comments

[Mary Cummings]

I'm so thankful that Frito-Lay has taken on the Fight Against Breast Cancer cause! "Be Fearless"