January 8, 2020

PLANO, Texas, Jan. 8, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- With the start of a new year, America's favorite potato chip is resolving to create more smiles in 2020 than ever before. Lay's, having recently unveiled its first brand redesign in over a decade, is ready to turn over the power of its bags – found in more than 68 percent of households nationwide – to star ordinary people who are doing extraordinary things to create joy in their communities. And as Lay's kicks off its nationwide search, the brand is doing its part to spread even more joy to flavor fans across the country by introducing three new chip flavors across its entire portfolio this January: Lay's Cheddar Jalapeño, Lay's Poppables Sea Salt & Vinegar, and Lay's Kettle Cooked Flamin' Hot.

To help find the smiles worthy of inviting into millions of Americans' homes later this year, Lay's issued its first-ever Smiles Survey to map the most joyful regions of the country and determine what's bringing them joy:

• While 66 percent of Americans consider themselves "happy" people, the state of New York reported the highest level of joy, followed by Georgia, Mississippi, Florida, Texas, Michigan, Arkansas, Connecticut, Alabama, and Indiana rounding out the top 10 list of most joyful states in America.
• People across the country are feeling joyous for different reasons, with those in the Northeast noting their states' seasons, residents in the South giving a nod to their friendly people, people in the West loving nature, and Midwesterners savoring their small-town feel.
• Sports teams give residents in Ohio, Maryland and Massachusetts something to smile about; Pennsylvania is particularly proud of its history; Michigan and Minnesota love their lakes; and food/restaurants rank high for those in Louisiana, Illinois, New York, New Jersey, and Rhode Island.

Meanwhile, the 66 percent of Americans who personally know someone who goes to great lengths to inspire joy should visit www.SmileWithLays.com to nominate their friends and family for the Lay's Smiles campaign, which will once again benefit Operation Smile in 2020. Last year, Lay's custom-designed 65 potato chip bags to feature the smiles of 31 ordinary people whose extraordinary acts – from throwing birthday parties for children in need to providing jobs to women transitioning out of homelessness to training injured veterans – inspired more than 17,500 Instagram shares to date and countless more smiles across the country.

While Lay's 2020 Smiles bags will hit shelves this fall, fans of flavor have three new reasons to smile this month with the latest additions to the Lay's portfolio:

• Lay's Cheddar Jalapeño: Sharp cheddar gets a warm kick of jalapeño that lingers through every crispy crunch. (7.75 oz. – $3.79; 2.625 oz. – $1.89)
• Lay's Poppables Sea Salt & Vinegar: Zap your tongue with the tasty tang of vinegar, balanced by the delightfully airy and crispy texture of Lay's Poppables. (5 oz. – $3.79)
• Lay's Kettle Cooked Flamin' Hot: The batch frying process for Lay's Kettle Cooked chips creates a distinct crunch and a texture that will offer a Flamin' Hot taste experience unlike anything else. (8 oz. – $3.49; 2.5oz – $1.89)

To learn more about the Smile with Lay's campaign and to nominate a friend or family member inspiring joy, visit www.SmileWithLays.com.

Survey Methodology

Frito-Lay North America partnered with Lucid to field the 2020 Lay's Smiles Survey. This poll was conducted between Dec. 5-16, 2019, among a national sample of 5,000 adults. The interviews were conducted online and the data was weighted to approximate a target sample of adults based on region, gender, age, race/ethnicity, and household income. Results from the full survey have a margin of error of plus or minus 1 percentage point.

About Lay's

Lay's is one of the brands that makes up Frito-Lay North America, the $15 billion convenient foods division of PepsiCo, Inc. (Nasdaq: 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 http://www.twitter.com/fritolay. 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 more than one billion times a day in more than 200 countries and territories around the world. PepsiCo generated more than $64 billion in net revenue in 2018, 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.

About Operation Smile

Operation Smile has provided hundreds of thousands safe surgeries for those born with cleft lip, cleft palate or other facial differences. With more than three decades of expertise, Operation Smile creates solutions that deliver free surgery to people where it's needed most.  As one of the largest medical volunteer-based nonprofits, Operation Smile has mobilized thousands of medical volunteers from a wide range of medical specialties from more than 80 countries. Operation Smile engages public-private partnerships to advance health care delivery, train local medical professionals to provide surgical care for patients in their communities, donate crucial medical equipment and supplies, and increase access to surgical care so that everyone living with cleft is treated. Visit www.operationsmile.org, find us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter.

SOURCE Frito-Lay North America