The Frito-Lay Brand Packs Quite the "Crunch"

After my CM 502 class was over, I rummaged through my purse to find something that I needed. Not my car keys and not my phone, but my opened bag of Doritos that I wanted to snack on while I walked to my car. The chips were so spicy and crunchy that I continued to eat more on the drive back home.

This is what led to me choose Frito-Lay as my brand topic. Since I could remember, I’ve always loved chips; it’s my favorite snack. Period. There are so many established snack companies so why did I choose Frito-Lay? 

Well as a consumer, Frito-Lay is the only brand that comes to mind when I think of chips. When I peruse through the snack aisles at a grocery store, food market, or a Walgreens, Frito-Lay chips are impossible to miss! As stated on the company’s website (www.fritolay.com), Frito-Lay makes up a whopping 59% of the entire U.S. snack chip industry.

I first got introduced to Frito-Lay chips when I was 8 years old. I went on a school field trip to the
Shedd Aquarium in Chicago with my 4^th grade class and my bag of lunch contained a turkey sandwich, apple, Capri Sun Juice, and last but not least, a bag of Cheetos Flamin’ Hots.

The history of Frito-Lay dates back to 1932 when a man named C.E. Doolin decided to purchase a small chip manufacturing company called Fritos Corn Chips. In the same year, Herman W. Lay started the H.W. Lay & Company and in 1961, the Frito Company and the H.W Lay Company merged to form Frito-Lay, Inc. 

The mission of the Frito-Lay brand (which can be found here) is to become America’s favorite snack food company by supporting local farmers, investing in sustainability efforts, and using the highest quality ingredients. The company’s history does in fact, fall in line with their mission: Two entrepreneurs had a dream to make, sell, and distribute snacks that are of great quality as well as environmentally friendly, and the company is doing just that.

The products that Frito-Lay provide include: Lays, Doritos, Tostitos, Cheetos, Fritos, Sun Chips, Cracker Jack, Funyuns Onion Rings, Grandma’s Cookies, Rold Gold Pretzels, Ruffles, Munchies, and more. While making Sun Chips, Frito-Lay conserves energy by harnessing the power of the sun with the help of solar collectors in their Modesto, California facility. They’ve reduced their water use by 40% for each product bag since 1999 and have reduced their waste by reusing each shipping carton five to six times before recycling it.

Although Frito-Lay dominates the snack industry, that doesn’t mean their products are "complaint-free." In Digital Strategies for Powerful Corporate Communications, Argenti and Barnes say that the stakeholder’s trust in business institutions has dropped. That 81 percent of surveyed investors “did not have much confidence” in the executives heading these big corporations. On product review websites like www.pissedconsumer.com, Frito-Lay has 32 complaints in regards to food vendors, 13 for food, and 8 for food stores. 

Some of the review titles like “smaller bags, same price, “hair in my bag of Doritos”, and “incorrect calorie labeling” are a clear indication that there is a feeling of disappoint, distrust, and disgust from consumers that can’t be ignored--thanks to Web 2.0. Argenti and Barnes describe Web. 2.0 as: “the collaborative environment that facilitates the creation and exchange of user-generated content via dynamic channels, including blogs, wikis, and social networks,” (Pg. 11).

Overall, I think the public perceives the brand positively because it’s fun, friendly, and full of variety. Frito-Lay participates in social media, which enables “stakeholder empowerment” (Argenti & Barnes, Pg. 14). Their Facebook page has garnered over 2.34 million “likes” and their Twitter handle has over 118K followers and counting.

The good thing about Frito-Lay is that there is a snack for everyone. I think the biggest criticism they constantly receive is that the size of their products keep shrinking while the prices keep inflating. However, I believe that since the quality of their products are top-notch, their brand presence is consistent, and their bag designs are appealing, all stakeholder groups will continue to buy into what Frito-Lay has to offer. No matter how "light" a bag of Ruffles feel in our hands.