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Lay's

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File:Lays classicbagchips.jpg
Bag of Lays Classic Chips

Lay's is the brand name for a number of potato chip varieties as well as the name of the company that founded the chip brand in 1938. Lay's chips are marketed as a division of Frito-Lay, a company owned by PepsiCo Inc. since 1965. Other brands in the Frito-Lay group include Fritos, Doritos, Ruffles, Cheetos and Rold Gold pretzels.

History

Native American chefGeorge Crum invented potato chips in 1853 while working in a New York hotel. The snack food became popular during the 1920s following the mechanical potato peeler. As distribution increased, a number of small companies began manufacturing and selling the product.

In 1932, salesman Herman W. Lay opened a snack food operation in Nashville, Tennessee and, in 1938, he purchased the Atlanta, Georgia potato chip manufacturer "Barrett Food Company," renaming it "H.W. Lay & Company." Lay criss-crossed the southern United States selling the product from the trunk of his car. In 1942, Lay introduced the first continuous potato processor, resulting in the first large-scale production of the product.

The business shortened its name to "the Lay's Company" in 1944 and became the first snack food manufacturer to purchase television commercials, with Bert Lahr as a celebrity spokeman. His signature line, "so crisp you can hear the freshness," became the chips' first slogan. As the popular commercials aired during the 1950s, Lay's went national in its marketing and was soon supplying product throughout the United States.

In 1961, the Frito Company founded by Elmer Doolin and Lay's merged to form Frito-Lay Inc., a snack food giant with combined sales of over $127 million annually, the largest of any manufacturer. Shortly thereafter, Lays introduced its best-known slogan "betcha you can't eat just one." Sales of the chips became international, with marketing assisted by a number of celebrity endorsers.

In 1965, Frito-Lay merged with the Pepsi Cola Company to form Pepsico, Inc. and a barbeque version of the chips appeared on grocery shelves. A new formulation of chip was introduced in 1991 that was crisper and kept fresher longer. Shortly thereafter, the company introduced the "Wavy Lays" products to grocer shelves. In the mid to late 1990s, Lay's modified its barbeque chips formula and rebranded it as "K.C. Masterpiece," named after a popular sauce, introduced a lower calorie baked version and a variety that was completely fat-free named Lay's WOW chips brand that contained the fat substitute olestra.

In the 2000s, kettle cooked brands appeared as did a processed version called Lay's Stax that was intended to compete with Pringles, and the company began introducing a variety of additional flavor variations.

Frito-Lay products presently control 55% of the United States salty foods marketplace.[1]

International

Walkers Logo, introduced February 2006
Walkers Logo, introduced February 2006

Walkers is a snack food manufacturer in the United Kingdom best known for manufacturing crisps. PepsiCo has owned the Walkers crisp label in the United Kingdom since 1991 and distributes Lay's product via this brand name (potato chips are known as "crisps" in the UK, "chips" being a Commonwealth English term for fried potatoes that resemble French Fries, although usually thicker). The logo for the British version is notably similar to the American brand, featuring a red ribbon around a yellow sun. The other Frito-Lay brands are also distributed through the Walkers label.

In Australia, Pepsico acquired the The Smith's Snackfood Company in 1998 and markets Frito-Lay products under that label. The logo for Smith's brands has remained relatively unchanged. Smith's precedes the other brands in having produced a flavored brand in 1961, chicken, that is still a top seller.

In Canada, the chips are distributed through the Lay's label while in Mexico, Pepsico distributes Lay's products under the name 'Sabritas' along with other products such as Cheetos, Fritos, Doritos and Ruffles.

Slogan(s)

  • Lays, get your smile on! (2006-)
  • Betcha can't eat just one (90s-2006)

Flavours

Except for barbecue-flavor potato chips, which were introduced no later than 1958, up until the last twenty years, the only flavor of potato chips has been the conventional one. Despite an explosion of new flavors, the unadorned original is still the selection of 81% of consumers.[2]

In the United States, Lay's offers a number of flavor combinations, in addition to the classic chips. Flavored products in the traditional fried varieties include sour cream & Onion, K.C. Masterpiece BBQ, cheddar & sour cream, Hidden Valley Ranch, salt & vinegar, salt & pepper, Flamin' Hot, dill pickle, límon (Lemon) and a thicker "Deli style" chip. Canadian sellers have a number of varied flavors, with ketchup, poutine, pizza, roast chicken, smokey bacon, salsa, and sea salt and pepper brands available. The marketing success of these flavors in Canada sometimes leads to a limited time offering of a flavor to the south, with the dill pickle recently appearing in the United States after a successful run.

In the baked products, there are classic, barbeque and sour cream & onion varieties. The kettle cooked version includes original, sea salt & vinegar, mesquite barbeque and jalapeño brands. Wavy Lay's have original, hickory barbeque, ranch and au gratin flavors while Lay's Stax offers original, sour cream & onion, cheddar, barbeque, ranch, pizza and salt & vinegar. The newest variety, Lay's Natural has thick cut barbeque and sea salt brands.

The WOW! brand was rebranded in 2004 as Lay's Light after the olestra formula was altered and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration allowed removal of warnings about various health consequences of the fat substitute.

Outside North America, Lay's in Greece and Cyprus are made and packed by Tasty Foods and Corina Snacks LTD, with Mediterranean flavors which include Feta cheese flavor, Tzatziki flavor, Olive and Tomato, Oregano, Sea Salt & Black Pepper and various more. There are hundreds of sub-variations of the mediterranean line and the company performs constant experimentations to create new flavors and adjust them to each country's liking. In some countries such as Argentina variations of the Mediterranean tastes exist include Olive Oil and Parmesan Cheese, Olive Oil and Tomato, Olive Oil and Basil, Greek Tzatziki Cheese with onions, Lasagna, Beef Carpaccio with Parmeggiano and Smoked Manchego Cheese. In Belgium there is a version of Cucumber and Goats Cheese. Finally in Chile there is a version of Lemon and Cilantro (Coriander) and Sour Cream and Onions.

In Australia, a cilantro version exists while a hot & sweet chili brand can be found in South America. An added flavor in India is called the "Magic Masala." This flavour is very popular in India, Pakistan and Bangladesh.

There are a number of unique products in the United Kingdom sold under the Walkers label, including prawn cocktail, beef & onion, Greek kebab and Marmite yeast extract. Under the Smith's label in Australia, unique flavors include Greek Feta & Herb and Italian Tomato & Basil.

In parts of South America (notably Argentina and Uruguay), Lay's flavored products are sold with the "Lay's Mediterraneas" label, and include such flavors as ham, tomato and basil, tomato parmesan, and oregano.

In Ukraine there is crab, bacon, cheddar, and sour cream and green onion

There are currently 12 regular Lay's flavours in Canada, though there are more, available only in certain parts of the country. The flavours available nationwide are the following: Classic (yellow), BarBQ (black), Salt & Vinegar (teal), Ketchup (dark red), Wavy Original (red), Dill Pickle (bright green), Smokey Bacon (brown), Sea Salt & Pepper (silver), Sour Cream & Onion (green), Roast Chicken (light brown) and finally Lightly Salted (bright blue). Also, in select Canadian markets Lay's has introduced international flavours such as "Spicy Curry" and "Wasabi" to appeal to a wider consumer group.

Nutritional information

File:Chips-BBQbakedlays.gif
Bag of Lays Baked Chips

As a snack food, the Lay's brands contain very few vitamins and minerals in any variety. At ten percent of the daily requirement per serving, vitamin C is the highest. Salt content is particularly high, with a serving containing as much as 380 mg of salt.

A one ounce (28 gram) serving of Lay's regular potato chips has 130 calories and contains ten grams of fat, with three grams of saturated fat. Kettle cooked brands have seven to eight grams of fat and two grams of saturated fat but are 140 calories. Lays Natural has nine grams of fat, two grams of saturated fat and 150 calories. Stax typically contain ten grams of fat, 2.5 grams saturated fat and are 160 calories per serving. Wavy Lays are identical to the regular brand except for a half-gram less of saturated fat in some combinations. The various brands do not contain any trans fats.

The baked variety feature 1.5 grams of fat per one ounce serving, and have no saturated fat. Each serving has 110 to 120 calories. Lay's Light sevings are 75 calories per ounce and have no fat.

See also