Lay's

Lay's is a brand of potato chips that has a range of different flavors that are sold in North America and various other countries across the rest of the world. It was the surname of the founder of the company originally formed in 1938 to produce potato chips. The brand is also referred to as Frito-Lay, as both Lay's and Fritos are brands sold by the Frito-Lay company. The company has been a wholly owned subsidiary of PepsiCo since the merger with Pepsi in 1965. Frito-Lay uses the brand name "Lay's" in the United States and Canada. While PepsiCo also uses the brand name "Lay's" outside of North America, PepsiCo uses other brand names such as Walkers in the UK and Ireland, and Smith's in Australia.[1]

History

In 1932, salesman Herman Lay opened a snack food operation in Nashville, Tennessee.[2] In 1938, he purchased the Atlanta, Georgia-based potato manufacturer Barrett Food Company, renaming it H.W. Lay Lingo & Company. Lay crisscrossed the southern United States, selling the product from the trunk of his car.

In 1961, the Frito Company, founded by Charles E. Doolin, merged with Lay’s, forming Frito-Lay Inc., a snack food giant with combined sales of over $127 million annually, which was then the highest sales revenue earned by any manufacturer. Shortly thereafter, Lay's introduced what became its best-known slogan: "betcha can't eat just one". Sales of the chips became international, with marketing assisted by a number of celebrity endorsers. Annual revenues for Frito-Lay exceeded $180 million by 1965, when the company had more than 8,000 employees and 46 manufacturing plants.[3]

In 1965, Frito-Lay merged with the Pepsi-Cola Company to form PepsiCo, Inc. In 1991, the company introduced a new formulation of their chip that was crispier and kept fresher for longer. Shortly thereafter, the company introduced the "Lay's Wavy" products to grocery shelves, with a national rollout in 1994.[4] In the mid-to-late 1990s, Lay's introduced a lower-calorie baked variety, and a fat-free variety (Lay's WOW chips) that contained the fat substitute olestra.

In the 2000s, the company introduced "kettle-cooked" varieties, as well as a more highly processed variety (Lay's Stax) that was intended to compete with Pringles,[5] and several differently flavored varieties.

In 2012, Frito-Lay products comprised 59% of the United States savory snack-food market.[6]

In April 2019, PepsiCo's Indian subsidiary sued four farmers in Gujarat, India for copyright infringement, claiming they were growing a variety of potatoes, named FL 2027 or FC5,[7] trademarked by the company for exclusive use in its Lay's potato chips.[8][9] Two years later, the ruling was done in the farmers' favor under the Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers' Rights Act, 2001.[10]

In fall 2025 Lay's rebranded their logo "to showcase that every chip is rooted in real potatoes."[11]

Nutritional information

As with most snack foods, the Lay's brands contain very few vitamins and minerals. At 10% of the daily requirement per serving, vitamin C is the highest. The salt content is very high, with a serving containing as much as 380mg of sodium.[12]

A 1oz (28g) serving of Lay's regular potato chips has 160 kcal, and contains 10g of fat, with 1g of saturated fat.[12] Kettle-cooked brands have 7g to 8g grams of fat and 1g of saturated fat, and are 140 kcal. Lay's Natural has 9g of fat, 2g of which are saturated fat, and 150 kcal. Stax chips typically contain 10g of fat, 2.5g of saturated fat, and are 160 kcal per serving. Lay's Wavy are identical to the regular brand, except for a 0.5g less of saturated fat in some combinations. Lay's and various brands do not contain any trans fats.

A 50g serving of Lay's Barbecue chips contains 270 kcal, and 17g of fat. It also contains 270mg of sodium, and 15% of the daily recommended dose of Vitamin C.[13]

The baked variety, introduced in the mid 1990s, contains 1.5g of fat per 1oz serving, and has no saturated fat. Each serving has 110 to 120 kcal. Lay's Light servings are 75 kcal per ounce and have no fat.[14]

Lay's Classic Potato chips were cooked in hydrogenated oil until 2003.[15] In 2024, according to ET, in the United States the chips are made with sunflower, corn and/or canola oil.[16]

International

Frito-Lay primarily uses the brand name "Lay's" in the United States, and uses other brand names in some other countries, including Walkers (UK and Ireland); Smith's (Australia); Chipsy (Egypt and the West Balkans[17]); Tapuchips (Israel);[18] Margarita (Colombia); and Sabritas (Mexico).

Flavors

See also

• Lay's Replay Field (Santa Ana)

External links