Families, Invent Away! Frito-Lay Announces Return of "Dreamvention" to Find the Next Best Invention Idea

Actress Cobie Smulders Teams Up with Frito-Lay Variety Packs to Inspire Families to "Dreamvent" Together for $250,000 Grand Prize

Frito-Lay Partners with STEM-Focused Museums to Offer Free Admission and Help Spark Creativity

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PepsiCo

Dec 13, 2017, 08:00 ET

PLANO, Texas, Dec. 13, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Families that play together can invent together. Frito-Lay Variety Packs, one of the flagship brands from PepsiCo's Frito-Lay division, is calling on families to dream big in the second year of its "Dreamvention" program and submit ideas to solve an everyday problem for a chance to win $250,000. Frito-Lay, which initially created Dreamvention after seeing so much ingenuity from families in their daily lives — from big inventions to daily life hacks — is bringing the program back after receiving thousands of creative ideas in its first campaign. After all, Frito-Lay Variety Packs believes that if you can dream, you can invent. Families can submit invention ideas and learn more about the program starting now at MyDreamvention.com.

Cobie Smulders, a mom of two young children who knows the importance of spending meaningful time with family and making each moment count, is helping Frito-Lay encourage families to brainstorm invention ideas together. Smulders, best known for roles such as Robin Scherbatsky from "How I Met Your Mother" and Maria Hill from the Marvel Cinematic Universe, has long had a passion for creativity and scientific endeavors — she was even an aspiring marine biologist in her youth before she pursued acting full time.

"As a mom of two kids, we're always making really weird stuff together!" said Smulders. "It's really cool to join them on these projects and help them with their imagination. That's why I admire the Dreamvention program, because it gives families a platform to showcase their creativity, hard work and determination. I can't think of a better way for families to spend time together than by encouraging each other to dream big."

To spark creativity for Dreamvention, Smulders and Frito-Lay are partnering with four STEM-focused museums across the country to offer families free admission between December and February, with Smulders helping kick off the first event today at the New York Hall of Science. Families will get hands-on Dreamvention experiences to inspire their own invention ideas to submit online. To see the museum schedule, visit MyDreamvention.com.

About Dreamvention
Earlier this year, Frito-Lay Variety Packs announced the inaugural "Dreamvention" contest where thousands of creative inventions were submitted by aspiring entrepreneurs from coast to coast. These imaginative and practical inventions were narrowed down to five finalists and an eventual $250,000 grand prize winner, including:

Maria DeLong from Brownsburg, Ind., who submitted "Pleasant Awakening" (finalist)
Anna Kreager from Cedar Park, Texas, who submitted "Chalkers" (finalist)
Julia Luetje from Leawood, Kansas, who submitted "Storm Sleeper" (finalist)
Grace Murphy from Needham, Mass., who submitted "Shoe Purse" (finalist)
Andrew Young from Batavia, New York, who submitted "Toaster Shooter" (winner)

All of these ideas were brought to life for the finalists to experience, with the help of MAKO Designs + Invent, a full-service consumer product development firm, through official prototypes of their inventions. Families can see the prototypes at the museum stops between December and February.

"This year's competition was fueled by the passion and creativity that aspiring entrepreneurs brought throughout the contest, proving that if you can dream, you can invent," said Jeannie Cho, Vice President of Marketing, Frito-Lay North America. "We are pleased to announce next year's competition to keep this celebration of innovation and family connection going. And we're looking forward to what families will 'dreamvent' together next as they work to bring their best ideas to life."

About the Contest
Families can participate by thinking up a fun invention idea, creating a simple drawing and short explanation of it and uploading both¹ to MyDreamvention.com starting now through February 26, 2018 for a chance to win. Five finalists will be announced in October 2018 at which point Frito-Lay will pass the baton to America to vote for its favorite Dreamvention. The winning invention, based on votes, will be announced in December 2018.

Here are a few tips for how families can get started:

Have a brainstorm with family and friends.
Look at everyday things and think of a way to make it better.
Think of an everyday problem you have and dream up a way to fix it!

You can also "Dreamvent" on-the-go! Frito-Lay Variety Pack features pre-portioned, single servings that can be taken with you wherever you go. Variety Packs include everyone's favorite Frito-Lay snacks, such as Cheetos cheese flavored snacks, Doritos tortilla chips, Fritos corn snacks, Funyun's onion flavored rings, Lay's potato chips, Rold Gold pretzels, Smartfood popcorn, and SunChips multigrain snacks. Variety Packs are available at retail stores nationwide for a suggested retail price of $2.69 - $13.99.

To submit an invention idea and to learn more about the contest and the official rules, please visit www.MyDreamvention.com.

For high-res images, broadcast-quality b-roll and other press materials about Dreamvention, please visit www.magicbulletmedia.com/MNR/DreamventionFamilies

About Frito-Lay Variety Packs
Frito-Lay Variety Packs is one of many Frito-Lay brands in North America - the $15 billion convenient foods business unit of PepsiCo (NYSE: PEP), which is headquartered in Purchase, NY. Learn more about Frito-Lay at the corporate website, http://www.fritolay.com, the Snack Chat blog, http://www.snacks.com and on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/fritolay. Learn more about Frito-Lay Variety Packs by visiting www.MyDreamvention.com.

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 2014, 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 and shareholder value. In practice, Performance with Purpose means

providing a wide range of foods and beverages from treats to better for you snacks; 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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¹ Dreamventors must be 13 years of age or older. Make sure to have a parent or guardian submit your Dreamvention with you!

SOURCE PepsiCo