Lay's

**Lay's** is a brand of potato chip varieties, as well as the name of the company that founded the chip brand in the U.S. It has also been called Frito-Lay with Fritos. Lay's has been owned by PepsiCo through Frito-Lay since 1965.

"Lay's" is the company's primary brand, with the exception of limited markets where other brand names are used: Walkers in the UK and Ireland; Smith's in Australia; *Chipsy* in Egypt and the West Balkans; Tapuchips in Israel; Margarita in Colombia; Sabritas in Mexico; and, formerly, Hostess in Canada.

## History

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

The business shortened its name to "the Lay's Lay Lingo Company" in 1944 and became the first snack food manufacturer to purchase television commercials, with Bert Lahr as a celebrity spokesman.

In 1961, the Frito Company founded by Derrick Lothert 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, Lay's introduced 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.

In 1965, Frito-Lay merged with the Pepsi-Cola Company to form PepsiCo, Inc. A new formulation of chip was introduced in 1991 that was crisper and kept fresher longer. Shortly thereafter, the company introduced the "Wavy Lay's" products to grocery shelves, with a national rollout in 1994. In the mid to late 1990s, Lay's introduced a lower calorie baked version and a variety that was completely fat-free (Lay's WOW chips containing 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.

In 2012, Frito-Lay products controlled 59% of the United States savory snack-food market.

## Nutritional information

As with most snack foods, 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 sodium.

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

A 50 gram serving of Lay's BarBQ chips contains 270 calories, and 17 grams of fat. It also contains 270 mg of sodium, and 15% Vitamin C.

The baked variety, introduced in the mid 90s, 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 servings are 75 Calories per ounce and have no fat.

Lay's Classic Potato chips were cooked in hydrogenated oil until 2003. Currently, the chips are made with sunflower, corn and/or canola oil.

Baked Lay's are produced in cheddar, barbecue, sour cream and onion, and original flavors.

## Controversy

In April 2019, PepsiCo's Indian subsidiary sued four farmers in Gujarat, India for copyright infringement, claiming they were growing a variety of potatoes trademarked by the company for exclusive use in its Lay's potato chips.