Snack Chat

Cheetos Brand Partners with Life of Dad Social Network for Cheetos Mix-Ups Art Contest

It's an exciting day for the Snack Chat blogging team as we introduce you to our newest member - Chad Darwin! Besides being a big fan of Funyuns onion flavored rings, Chad is a public relations manager for some of your favorite Frito-Lay brands. We're happy to have him join us and hope you enjoy his posts.

- Joe

Art, in all its many forms, has inspired me since I was a kid. So needless to say, I was beyond excited to work with our Cheetos brand to team up with Life of Dad, a social network for dads, to offer consumers the chance to become a "Cheetos Picasso" by creating original artwork using new Cheetos Mix-Ups cheese flavored snacks, a shareable mix of four cheesy Cheetos snack flavors in unique shapes and wild colors. The snacks are the perfect inspiration for all kinds of art creation and can be found at retailers nationwide in two flavors -- Cheetos Mix-Ups Cheezy Salsa and Cheetos Mix-Ups Xtra Cheezy Flavored Snack Mix.

Life of Dad has asked its network of hundreds of dad bloggers to join in the fun and share their creations on a dedicated site for the chance to win a trip to the 2014 Dad 2.0 Summit. The Cheetos brand will share the entries on its Facebook page, and Life of Dad will feature them via social media.

Details on how to submit your own work of art through May 10, 2013 and the amazing creations can be viewed on www.cheetos.lifeofdad.com. Be sure to follow Chester Cheetah on Twitter to see all the creative mayhem ensue and check back here next month to see the winners!

- Chad

Get Ready for National Garlic Day with a New Flavor of Lay's Wavy Potato Chips!

I'm an unabashed fan of garlic. I love it minced and sauteed with my eggs at breakfast, roasted and added to my favorite guacamole dip for a party snack and many of other ways including toasted, grated, crushed and fried. It seems my love of garlic puts me in good company as the average adult in the U.S. consumes around 2.3 pounds of garlic every year.* We love garlic so much, we even gave it its own holiday on April 19 and, now, a new snack -- Lay's Wavy Garlic & Sea Salt flavored potato chips!

Lay’s Wavy Roasted Garlic & Sea Salt flavored chips joins the brand's four other flavors: Lightly Salted, Ranch, Original and Hickory BBQ. However, a new flavor in the line is just the beginning. Fans of the snack will also notice a brand new packaging design, the first packaging change in the product line’s 20-year history. (Keep calm and continue enjoying Lay's Wavy - no flavors were altered as part of the packaging update.)

New Lay’s Wavy Roasted Garlic & Sea Salt flavored chips will be available nationwide starting this month, and stay tuned to the Frito-Lay Twitter handle on National Garlic Day this Friday, April 19, for a special offer from @FritoLay. 

*Source: ERS, USDA, 2011

- Joe

Enter the NFL and Ruffles Photo Caption Contest for a Chance to Win a Trip To The NFL Draft!

As a fan of a football team that hasn't seen the second round of the playoffs in the better part of two decades, I look forward to the NFL Draft every year. The draft is a magical time that offers hope that this season could be the year we finally get another championship. Because of this hope, and in the off chance the team ever asked for my opinion, I take the draft very seriously. I know the top prospects, their college performance, speed and strength potential, and where they'd fit best with my team. Attending the NFL Draft live is something any football fan would be lucky to do. 

This year, two football fans will get to experience the NFL Draft firsthand courtesy of the NFL and Ruffles Photo Caption Contest. Today through April 22, 2013, fans of the Ruffles Facebook page can enter for a chance to win by submitting their best caption for the photo below through the official contest app. One grand prize winner will win a VIP trip for two to the NFL Draft in New York City, and daily winners will win $50 NFLShop.com gift cards as well as bags of Ruffles potato chips. 

So get creative and head to the Ruffles Facebook page once a day to enter for your chance to win!

- Joe

Taco Bell Doritos Locos Tacos Inspire Tasty New Snacks!

About a year ago, I shared with you news of the Taco Bell Doritos Locos Tacos, crispy tacos with shells made from Doritos Nacho Cheese Flavored Tortilla Chips. The tacos were a huge hit, and more than 375 million have been sold. The Cool Ranch Doritos Locos Tacos joined the menu last month, and the menu addition was the most highly anticipated and socially requested product launch in Taco Bell history! Building off the excitement, I'm thrilled to let you know about two new flavors of Doritos tortilla chips:

• DLT Nacho Cheese and Crunchy Taco Flavored Chips: Includes two chip varieties in one bag – the signature crunch of Doritos Nacho Cheese flavored chips plus a chip reminiscent of the Taco Bell Crunchy Taco.  When combined these flavors deliver a taste experience inspired by the Nacho Cheese DLT. 
• DLT Cool Ranch and Crunchy Taco Flavored Chips: Also includes two chip varieties in a single bag – this time, it's the bold flavor of Doritos Cool Ranch flavored chips plus a chip reminiscent of the Taco Bell Crunchy Taco. Enjoy them together for a flavor inspired by the Cool Ranch DLT.

Which flavor are you most excited to try first? 

- Joe

Spice Up Snacking With Frito-Lay and Tapatio Hot Sauce!

When it comes to spicy foods, I just can't get enough (even when it's taking on the world's hottest chili pepper). That being said, I love the variety of spicy snacks we offer -- from Cheetos Flamin' Hot crunchy cheese flavored snacks to Doritos JACKED Spicy Chipotle BBQ flavored tortilla chips. Today, I'm happy to introduce two more flavors in our spicy snacks family -- Lay’s Tapatio Limon flavored potato chips and Cheetos Tapatio flavored snacks. The two flavors join the existing lineup of snacks in the Tapatio and Frito-Lay brand partnership and are now available at retail locations in the western and central regions of the U.S.

Tapatio hot sauce has been around since the early 1970s when it started as a part-time venture for founder Luis Saavedra, Sr. Much like Fritos corn chips creator C.E. Doolin started the brand by making Fritos corn chips in his mother's kitchen, Saavedra began his business by preparing batches of hot sauce in his family home. He first sold bottles of Tapatio hot sauce to local stores near his Los Angeles home, and the sauce can now be found in homes and restaurants across the United States. 

If you like spicy snacks like I do, be sure to let me know which of these new flavors you're most excited to try in the comments below! 

- Joe