Lay’s potato chips, a marquee brand from PepsiCo’s Frito-Lay division in Plano, TX, announces the four finalist flavors in its Lay's “Do Us A Flavor” contest. Lay's Cappuccino, Lay's Cheddar Bacon Mac & Cheese, Lay's Kettle Cooked Wasabi Ginger and Lay's Wavy Mango Salsa flavored potato chips were selected as finalists from the more than 14 million entries submitted to the contest between Jan. 13 and April 5.
All four finalist flavors have been fully developed by Frito-Lay's culinary experts and will make their debut on store shelves nationwide later this month. Consumer votes will determine which flavor is selected as the winner, with the finalist behind the winning idea taking home a $1 million grand prize.
From July 28 through Oct. 18, consumers may vote once each day for their favorite finalist flavor on www.DoUsAFlavor.com; via Twitter, Instagram and/or Vine using the hashtags #SaveCappuccino, #SaveBaconMac, #SaveWasabi or #SaveMango; and/or via text message by texting "Cappuccino," "Bacon Mac," "Wasabi" or "Mango" to 24477 (CHIPS). The winning flavor will be revealed in November and will remain on store shelves following the completion of the contest.
"For just the second time in history, we asked fans across the U.S. to tell us what flavors they thought would be 'yummy as a chip,' and the response blew us away," says Ram Krishnan, senior vice president of marketing, Frito-Lay North America. "The number and range of flavor ideas shared, the level of engagement our fans had with the program and the anticipation that has been mounting over the last several weeks as we prepared to name our finalists have demonstrated once again the incredible passion and excitement our fans have for great potato chip flavors. We can't wait to see which flavor America selects as its favorite."
The contest finalists are Chad Scott from Las Vegas, who submitted Cappuccino; Matt Allen from Troy, OH, who submitted Cheddar Bacon Mac & Cheese; Meneko Spigner McBeth from Deptford, NJ, who submitted Wasabi Ginger; and Julia Stanley-Metz from Sacramento, CA, who submitted Mango Salsa. This week, the four finalists joined the Lay's brand in New York, where they officially unveiled their flavors on gigantic screens in Times Square and distributed free samples of their flavors from a Frito-Lay delivery truck.
A judging panel comprised of chefs, foodies and flavor experts narrowed down the contest submissions to four finalist flavors. The three runners-up will each win $50,000, with the grand prize winner taking home $1 million, or 1% of his or her flavor's net sales through July 1, 2015 (whichever is higher). More details and official contest rules are available at www.DoUsAFlavor.com.