Snack Chat

Sharing Our Health & Wellness Message at the SocialLuxe Lounge in NYC

Hi, I'm Kristin Holmes from the Frito-Lay Communications team. Last week, Aurora Gonzalez, PR Director at Frito-Lay, and I attended SocialLuxe Lounge in New York, an event that helped kick off the 2010 BlogHer conference, an annual gathering of female bloggers from around the country. We joined a variety of consumer product companies -- Avery, Stride Rite, International Delight, Aveda and Ghiradelli -- to bring SocialLuxe Lounge's theme, "Pamper. Polish. Primp. Party!" to life for more than 300 bloggers.

At the Frito-Lay booth, we helped bloggers pamper their taste buds with some of their favorite chips -- SunChips, Lay's Lightly Salted and Tostitos Scoops! -- paired with fresh-made salsas and hummus dips. Oh yea, we even served champagne to help wash down the chips and dips! (Check out the Svelte Gourmand article about pairing potato chips with champagne.) 

We also offered bloggers a "chip challenge" -- a few trivia questions about Frito-Lay and our snacks -- to test their knowledge about how our snacks measure up when it comes to ingredients, sodium and whole grains. My two favorite moments of the night came after two women took the chip challenge and learned something new about our snacks:

• "You're kidding. Seriously? A one-ounce serving of Tostitos Restaurant Style chips really has less sodium that a slice of white bread?" Yup. This one usually surprises people, but it makes sense when we explain that salt is applied to our chips after they're cooked, so you can taste it more than if it were baked in, like with bread.
• "No, I really didn't think that one could be true. It really only takes 15 minutes for a potato to become potato chips?" Again, yup. This one is always a pleasant surprise to people, and I think it's a true testament to the freshness we bring to each bag of our snacks.

It was great to see people experience our snacks in a fun, lighthearted way, but also in a way that helped us share information about what we're doing to support healthier snacking.

So, to all of the lovely ladies -- and a few gentlemen -- who stopped by our SocialLuxe Lounge booth, thanks for enjoying our chips (and champagne!) and learning a little something new about what goes into making the best snacks on earth. (Pictured below: Group shot of the event attendees.)

- Kristin

 

Doritos Launches Limited-Time NFL-Inspired Flavors

Years ago, I ran into John Madden inside the clubhouse of a golf course near San Francisco, and the first thing that came to mind was, "This is one big guy."  He was incredibly gracious and friendly, and fortunately I didn’t embarrass myself by playing golf with him. (I admit I’m terrible.)

For years, every time I listened to John announcing football games, I was reminded of that day. He brought an incredible skill to football, but as importantly, he brought an infectious, almost childlike enthusiasm to his announcing.  

So earlier this year, I was pleased to see Doritos and Electronic Arts team up to host a contest called, "Change the Game," and let fans choose the cover athlete of Madden NFL 11, this year's release of the popular football video game.  Fans selected Drew Brees for the Madden NFL 11 cover and can pick up a copy on August 10th.

To help celebrate the game’s release, Doritos is launching two new limited-time flavors -- Tailgater BBQ and Stadium Nacho. To develop these unique flavors, our culinary team from Frito-Lay Research & Development went to a Dallas Cowboys football game and hung out in the parking lot to learn more about the foods football fans enjoy at their tailgates. They even tasted some of the specialties for a true “gameday experience." Then, they went back to our culinary innovation center, applied their advanced “Flavor Plus” technology and developed the two new flavors -- both of which really capture the taste of the tailgate.

“Flavor Plus” is the same technology the team used to develop Doritos Late Night flavors we launched last year. It’s a process in which our culinary food scientists develop the seasoning blend for the chips based on a “gold standard” taste profile found in real foods. Doritos Stadium Nacho offers the taste of real jalapenos and cheese you’d expect from football stadium nachos, and Tailgater BBQ tastes and smells like the barbecue so many fans enjoy at pre-game gatherings.

As a bonus, on every bag of Doritos Stadium Nacho and Tailgater BBQ, fans will find special codes to enter online for a chance to win Madden Ultimate Team Packs and other NFL merchandise.

Although one of the prizes is not a round of golf with John Madden (despite my embarrassment, I’d still like to win that), enjoying the new Doritos flavors is a great way to enhance both your football-watching and Madden football-gaming experiences.  

You'll need to hurry to try these new flavors, since Doritos Tailgater BBQ and Doritos Stadium Nacho will only be in stores for a limited time. Click here to find stores that carry them.