Lay's "Do Us A Flavor" Contest Returns To The U.S. With $1 Million Grand Prize For Best Potato Chip Flavor Idea

Fans Invited to Submit Regionally Inspired Potato Chip Flavors in Celebration of America's Love of Diverse (and Delicious) Flavors

News provided by

Frito-Lay North America

Jan 20, 2015, 06:01 ET

PLANO, Texas, Jan. 20, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Lay's, one of the marquee brands from PepsiCo's Frito-Lay division, today announced the return of its now-iconic Lay's "Do Us A Flavor" contest. Beginning Jan. 20, 2015, fans nationwide are once again invited to submit their ideas for the next great potato chip flavor for the chance to win a $1 million grand prize. But this time around, there's an exciting new twist: Lay's is asking fans to also include the location that inspired each potential million-dollar idea. Later this year, four delicious finalist flavors – representing flavorful cities and towns across the U.S. – will be fully developed, brought to store shelves and voted on by America. Fans are encouraged to visit www.DoUsAFlavor.com to submit their flavor ideas.

"With two U.S. 'Do Us A Flavor' contests complete, millions of consumers from just about every corner of the country have weighed in on the next great potato chip flavor," said Jeff Klein, vice president of marketing, Frito-Lay. "Time and again, these fans have told us they've drawn inspiration from their favorite locations all around the U.S. – from the cities where they live to their favorite vacation spots to the places they've traveled to see friends and family. So this year, we decided to take America's love of diverse flavors to a whole new level and let it inspire our next contest winner."

Fans looking to excite their palates and inspire their contest submissions also can check out two new features developed through a collaboration between the Lay's brand and Google. The "Flavorcast Heat Map," which is available at www.DoUsAFlavor.com, presents up-to-date data on the most-searched-for ingredients and flavors from around the country. Use of the map is completely optional and will not impact the outcome of the contest. Also new this year, consumers have the option to create their own 'movie trailers' based on their flavor submissions as an entertaining way to engage with the contest and introduce their submissions to others.

Now through March 30, 2015, fans can submit their flavor suggestions on www.DoUsAFlavor.com, through Twitter (follow @Lays for details), through the Lay's Facebook Page or by using their cell phone to text FLAVOR to CHIPS (24477). To submit, fans will be asked to provide their name, flavor name, up to three ingredients, the chip style, the city and state that inspired their submission and a brief description or inspiration story for their flavor.

As part of this year's contest, a judging panel made up of chefs, foodies and flavor experts will narrow down the contest submissions to four regionally inspired finalist flavors that will then be fully developed by Frito-Lay's culinary experts and brought to market this summer. From there, it will be up to fans to vote for the finalist flavor they want to see stay on store shelves. The winning flavor – as determined by fan votes – will be revealed in the fall. The three runner-up finalists will each win $50,000 in prize money, with the grand prize winner taking home $1 million or one percent of his or her flavor's net sales (whichever is higher) for the period July 15, 2015 through July 15, 2016.

Brief Contest History
PepsiCo has held "Do Us A Flavor" contests in numerous countries with consumers suggesting millions of ideas for chips flavors around the world. In July 2012, the Lay's brand launched its first "Do Us A Flavor" contest in the U.S., which resulted in Lay's Cheesy Garlic Bread submitted by Karen Weber-Mendham, a children's librarian from Land O'Lakes, Wis., being selected as the first million-dollar winner. The contest returned to the U.S. for a second time in Jan. 2014. After more than 14 million flavor submissions – more than three times the number of submissions in the contest's debut year in the U.S. – Lay's Kettle Cooked Wasabi Ginger submitted by Meneko Spigner McBeth, a nurse from Deptford, NJ, was crowned the winner. Lay's Kettle Cooked Wasabi Ginger flavor returns to stores this month in its official "winner" packaging.
For more information and official contest rules, please visit www.DoUsAFlavor.com.

About Lay's
Lay's potato chips is one of the billion-dollar brands that makes up Frito-Lay North America, the $13 billion convenient foods business unit of PepsiCo (NYSE: PEP), which is headquartered in Purchase, N.Y. Learn more about Lay's by visiting www.facebook.com/lays or on Twitter at www.twitter.com/lays. You can also follow Lay's on Instagram by visiting http://instagram.com/lays.

About PepsiCo
PepsiCo products are enjoyed by consumers one billion times a day in more than 200 countries and territories around the world. PepsiCo generated more than $66 billion in net revenue in 2013, driven by a complementary food and beverage portfolio that includes Frito-Lay, Gatorade, Pepsi-Cola, Quaker and Tropicana. PepsiCo's product portfolio includes a wide range of enjoyable foods and beverages, including 22 brands that generate more than $1 billion each in estimated annual retail sales.

At the heart of PepsiCo is Performance with Purpose – our goal to deliver top-tier financial performance while creating sustainable growth in shareholder value. In practice, Performance with Purpose means providing a wide range of foods and beverages from treats to healthy eats; finding innovative ways to minimize our impact on the environment and reduce our operating costs; providing a safe and inclusive workplace for our employees globally; and respecting, supporting and investing in the local communities where we operate. For more information, visit www.pepsico.com.

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