Snack Chat

Fritos and Tim McGraw Team Up to Help Families in Need

One of the biggest challenges for marketers is how to make a mature brand, like Fritos corn chips, fresh and relevant to today's consumers without losing the personality and heritage which made it great in the first place. Identifying a simple yet profound consumer insight or trend about your loyal fans is the key to bridging the past to the present.  In my 30 years with Frito-Lay, I've seen three outstanding examples where the Fritos brand team successfully accomplished this feat.

The most recent example occurred this week when Fritos announced it’s teaming up with country music artist Tim McGraw to donate $500,000 to Neighbor's Keepers Fund, an organization Tim and his wife, country music artist Faith Hill, founded in 2004. Neighbor’s Keepers Fund aims to help people in need and encourage the spirit of neighbors helping neighbors. Fritos’ donation will help support nonprofit organizations in 34 cities where Tim will be playing as a part of his "Southern Voice" tour. So, we’re giving where we’re living –- something I think all of us are trying to do better these days.  

"The Fritos brand has been a part of American family traditions and community gatherings for generations, so it was a natural fit for us to partner with Tim McGraw," Christy Kulka, Fritos Marketing Manager.

Another example of great marketing by the Fritos brand occurred a few years ago when the brand team learned that some consumers didn’t realize that Fritos are made from real corn.  So, Frito-Lay launched an educational campaign to demonstrate the simple ingredients in many of our snacks. For example, Fritos are made from corn, all-natural oils and salt. That’s it!

My favorite example of Fritos connecting with consumer insights occurred in 1994, when the brand team worked with our Research and Development team to develop Fritos Scoops!.  The marketing team learned many of their loyal consumers loved to dip with Fritos -- particularly into heartier dips.  But they found it hard to keep the dip on the Fritos corn chip.  Hence, Fritos Scoops! was born, which has all the great taste of Fritos Original Corn Chips with the added benefit of being perfect for mess-free dipping. 

I've found in my own life that people can also freshen-up their image without losing their heritage.  As an example, my wife, Janis, and I struggled for a long time to come up with "hip" names for our grandchildren to call us.  Then, our grandson, Nicholas, picked the perfect name: He calls me, Pops, and Janis, Mims (a much cooler version of Mimi, in our opinions).  The nicknames are a big hit and have been adopted by our other grandsons as well. 

So while we're not quite as old as the Fritos brand, we too are enjoying a makeover that’s just right for the times. 

Counterfeit Doritos Coupon is Still Being Circulated

A counterfeit coupon for a free bag of Doritos chips up to $5 is still circulating, primarily through e-mail, and we ask our Snack Chat readers to be on the lookout and help us spread the word about this fraudulent coupon. The counterfeit coupon, shown left, was not created, authorized or distributed by Frito-Lay. We've notified retailers of this fraud and are working with authorities to identify the source of the fraudulent coupon.

If you receive the fraudulent Doritos coupon (sometimes displayed 6 coupons to a page), please don't attempt to use it or pass it along to others.  You can help spread the word by alerting the person who sent it to you and informing others of this counterfeit.  

Click here to learn more about the fraudulent coupon. 

Ways to identify this fraudulent Doritos coupon:

• Offer is for a free bag up to $5

• No purchase required and doesn't feature a CIC hologram foil strip under expiration date

• There is only one barcode in the right hand side

• Coupon was distributed via e-mail

If You Love Wasabi, Try Doritos Mr. Dragon's Fire Chips

Often in the snack food business, new ideas build on previous successes.  One example is Frito-Lay's use of wasabi, known as “Japanese horseradish,” as a seasoning for our chips. (Wikipedia offers a great entry on wasabi if you want to read more about it.)

Several years ago when I worked in Frito-Lay marketing, I was part of the project team that introduced Funyuns Flamin’ Hot in the western U.S.  The product sold well for awhile, but slowly lost its popularity.  Our sales teams in the west said their consumers had a growing interest in wasabi and asked us to replace Funyuns Flamin’ Hot with -- you guessed it -- Funyuns with Wasabi.  

Frankly, the idea of Asian-inspired Funyuns didn't make much sense to me as a marketer, but the sales team was insistent that the flavor would be a hit.  I admittedly did not have my heart in it at first, but I also knew that our field sales teams had an excellent batting average when it came to identifying consumer trends in their markets.  So, my team and I worked with our Research and Development counterparts to develop and launch Funyuns with Wasabi. It was an instant success, selling quite well for a few years until demand declined, and we discontinued it in early 2008.  

Flash forward to mid-May this year, and the Doritos brand introduced Mr. Dragon's Fire Chips -- a limited-time flavor that features wasabi as a key ingredient in the seasoning.  I love the name, and the dragon on the package is very cool. Even if it’s not obvious when looking at the bag what the flavor is, I think the mystery helps maintain the excitement of the Doritos brand.  I now wish I had put a bit more positive energy into the Funyuns with Wasabi project years ago and come up with a product name that was as innovative and buzz-worthy as Mr. Dragon's Fire Chips!

If you like the flavor of wasabi and want to try Doritos Mr. Dragon’s Fire Chips, you'll have to hurry because it’s only in stores through mid-July. Though, given our history with and the popularity of hot flavors (Funyuns Flamin’ Hot are back and sell very well these days), I wouldn't be surprised to see Frito-Lay use wasabi again as a flavor in the future.

Frito-Lay and ACP Mentors Returning Veterans

Last week at Frito-Lay headquarters in Plano, Texas, Sid Goodfriend, former investment banker at Merrill Lynch and current president of American Corporate Partners (ACP), and Roger Enrico, former CEO of PepsiCo (Frito-Lay’s parent company) and current chairman of DreamWorks Animation SKG, presented to more than 70 military veterans and their mentors -– including many Frito-Lay/PepsiCo employees -- who are part of ACP’s mentoring program dedicated to helping veterans transition from military service to private enterprise. I was fortunate to attend the event and hear their words about leadership first hand. Pictured below: Sid (sitting) and Roger (at podium).

Sid explained that ACP’s program offers recently-discharged veterans free career counseling and mentoring through partnerships with corporations like PepsiCo, Campbell Soup Co. and Proctor & Gamble.  He also mentioned that although the program has been active only a few years, it’s really taken off. In fact, the ACP is seeking more mentors to help returning veterans make the transition back to civilian life.

Roger, a Vietnam veteran, told the group that some of the best leadership training people can receive is in the military.  Yet, he stressed that great leaders also need to be great managers -- as a leader, you set the vision, and as a manager, you empower your teams and eliminate obstacles so they can achieve the vision.

Frito-Lay partnered with ACP for the first time last year, and we already have 50 Frito-Lay/PepsiCo employees in Dallas and Chicago working as mentors.  It’s just one of the ways we’re making progress on our commitment to foster diversity and inclusion at Frito-Lay/PepsiCo and to give back to our communities. 

I recently added my name to the volunteer list at ACP -- both to mentor returning veterans and to recruit my fellow Frito-Lay/PepsiCo retirees in the Dallas area to volunteer. The program coordinators hope to match retirees with tenured veterans who leave the military after a long career and start to establish themselves in a new line of work -- an experience similar to what many retirees go through.  (Shameless plug: If any PepsiCo retirees read this blog and are interested in becoming mentors, please contact me using the “Email Chief Blogger” link at the top of this page.)

By recruiting other Frito-Lay/PepsiCo retirees, I’ve also reconnected with people that I used to work with and respect. Three of my former colleagues signed up to be mentors.  

I can't wait to receive my mentoring assignment at the end of June.  I look forward to the challenge of being a mentor for two main reasons: I always found mentoring people at Frito-Lay to be very satisfying, and I believe that it is very important to support the men and women who serve in our military.

I’m certain volunteering with ACP will be a fun and worthwhile adventure. For more info about ACP, check out its Web site: http://www.acp-usa.org/#