Sun Chips (styled SunChips[2] or SUNCHIPS[3]) is a brand of fried,[4] rippled, multigrain chips produced by Frito-Lay.
History
Frito-Lay had first introduced a multigrain snack chip in 1974 under the name Prontos. The launch of Prontos was unsuccessful, with issues in the manufacturing process and low sales, and the product was discontinued in 1978. In 1981, Frito-Lay research and development revived the multigrain concept under the codename "Harvest", hoping to create a healthier alternative to potato and corn chips that would appeal to aging baby boomers. Some concepts were privately tested but proved unsuccessful, and the project was shelved until 1988. After another renewed effort with an additional 13 months of taste-testing, a successful prototype was developed. It was given the name "Sun Chips", which had previously been used for a short-lived line of Frito-Lay corn chips introduced in 1976 and discontinued by 1985. The new Sun Chips were first introduced to consumers in the Minneapolis–St. Paul area on October 9, 1989. During the one-year market test in that area, nearly 20 percent of households tried the product at least once, and more than 40 percent of those purchased them again.