The Cheesy Cheetos "Unicorn" Takes Home the Top Spot in the Cheetos Museum

America selects the $50,000 Grand Prize Winning Cheetos Shape for 2017

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Sep 07, 2017, 09:00 ET

PLANO, Texas, Sept. 7, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- The votes are in! Cheetos, one of the flagship brands from PepsiCo's Frito-Lay division, has found it's very own Unicorn – awarding the mythical submission aptly named "Unicorn", the grand prize winner in the 2017 Cheetos Museum search for the most magnificent Cheetos shape. Thousands of fans voted to name this year's winning shape – deciding between Unicorn and the Flamin' Hot "Seahorse". Cheetos, sparing no expense when it comes to imaginative Cheetos shapes, will award the winner with $50,000 for the outstanding find. The fabled Cheesy Cheetos shape is also earning a place in artistic history as permanent part of the famous Ripley's Believe It or Not! Odditorium's family of oddities.

Thousands of fans voted to name this year’s winning shape, "Unicorn", the grand prize winner in the 2017 Cheetos Museum search for the most magnificent Cheetos shape.

"The Cheetos Museum program continued to celebrate our fans' imaginations this summer - and as always they did not disappoint. The incredible response to curate the 2017 Cheetos Museum continued to show the artistic Cheetos possibilities are endless, " said Ryan Matiyow, senior director of marketing, Frito-Lay. "It was a difficult decision, but Cheesy Unicorn and Flamin' Hot Seahorse were the most unique submissions with undeniable likeness to the objects they depicted. We were excited to see how America voted, and look forward to seeing the continued creativity this Halloween on CheetosMuseum.com."

Earlier this summer, the Cheetos brand set out to expand its online Cheetos Museum, asking fans to submit the artistic shapes they found in their Flamin' Hot and Cheesy Cheetos. Each submission was judged on the creativity of the piece and how closely it resembles its description. One Cheesy and one Flamin' Hot Cheetos shape was selected as a finalist every week. After receiving over 100,000 submissions, the Cheetos brand and Ripley's Believe It or Not! collaborated to select one finalist in each category. The top two works of art were then unveiled to America to vote for their favorites and determine the grand prize winner. America spoke and the Cheesy Cheetos "Unicorn" is the official Cheetos Museum masterpiece this year.

The Cheetos Museum will be opening a new online exhibit this fall to showcase fans Halloween creations. For more information about the the next Cheetos Museum exhibit, or to view a photo of the winning "Unicorn" shape in the museum archives, visit www.CheetosMuseum.com.

About Cheetos
Cheetos is one of many Frito-Lay brands in North America - the $14 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 Cheetos by visiting www.facebook.com/Cheetos.

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 $63 billion in net revenue in 2015, 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 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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About Ripley Entertainment
Ripley's Believe It or Not! is part of the Ripley Entertainment Inc. (www.ripleys.com) family of worldwide attractions, the global leader in location-based entertainment. More than 14 million people visit its 100-plus attractions in 11 countries each year. In addition to its 31 Believe It or Not! Odditoriums, the Orlando, Florida-based company has publishing, licensing and broadcast divisions that oversee projects including the syndicated Believe It or Not! television show, best-selling books and the popular syndicated cartoon strip, Ripley's Believe It or Not!, that still runs daily in countries around the world. Ripley Entertainment is a Jim Pattison Company, the third-largest privately held company in Canada.

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SOURCE Frito-Lay