• Wall Street Journal, Thursday, May 4, 2006 2 PM

Snack food marketer Frito-Lay North America is changing the way it makes its flagship Lay's potato chips, but it wants to make sure consumers know the product will still taste the same. To that end, the snack food marketer will launch a major marketing push to support the reformulated chips, which henceforth will be made with sunflower oil rather than cottonseed oil. The move will reduce the saturated fat in Lay's and Ruffles by more than 50 percent, and boost the level of mono- and polyunsaturated fats, which help lower bad cholesterol and offer other health benefits, the company said. Frito-Lay made the switch in Canada last year and some smaller brands, such as Lay's Kettle chips, are already cooked in sunflower oil. Local radio and television ads will begin in the Northeast and expand across the U.S. this year as the product gains national distribution. The company has new packaging and plans for in-store sampling to assure consumers that the world's leading potato chip hasn't changed in taste. Lora DeVuono, group vice president for brand marketing and advertising at Frito-Lay, said the new campaign will focus on imagery combining "smiles and sunflowers" and retain the Lay's ad slogan, "Get your smile on."

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