Lay’s fans could win $1 million for next great chip flavor

PLANO /PRNewswire/ — Lay’s, one of the marquee brands from PepsiCo’s Frito-Lay division, announced the return of its now-iconic Lay’s “Do Us A Flavor” contest. Beginning Jan. 20, 2015, fans nationwide are once again invited to submit their ideas for the next great potato chip flavor for the chance to win a $1 million grand prize. But this time around, there’s an exciting new twist: Lay’s is asking fans to also include the location that inspired each potential million-dollar idea. Later this year, four delicious finalist flavors – representing flavorful cities and towns across the U.S. – will be fully developed, brought to store shelves and voted on by America. Fans are encouraged to visit www.DoUsAFlavor.com to submit their flavor ideas.

“With two U.S. ‘Do Us A Flavor’ contests complete, millions of consumers from just about every corner of the country have weighed in on the next great potato chip flavor,” said Jeff Klein, vice president of marketing, Frito-Lay. “Time and again, these fans have told us they’ve drawn inspiration from their favorite locations all around the U.S. – from the cities where they live to their favorite vacation spots to the places they’ve traveled to see friends and family. So this year, we decided to take America’s love of diverse flavors to a whole new level and let it inspire our next contest winner.”

Fans looking to excite their palates and inspire their contest submissions also can check out two new features developed through a collaboration between the Lay’s brand and Google. The “Flavorcast Heat Map,” which is available at www.DoUsAFlavor.com, presents up-to-date data on the most-searched-for ingredients and flavors from around the country. Use of the map is completely optional and will not impact the outcome of the contest. Also new this year, consumers have the option to create their own ‘movie trailers’ based on their flavor submissions as an entertaining way to engage with the contest and introduce their submissions to others.

Now through March 30, 2015, fans can submit their flavor suggestions on www.DoUsAFlavor.com, through Twitter (follow @Lays for details), through the Lay’s Facebook Page or by using their cell phone to text FLAVOR to CHIPS (24477). To submit, fans will be asked to provide their name, flavor name, up to three ingredients, the chip style, the city and state that inspired their submission and a brief description or inspiration story for their flavor.

As part of this year’s contest, a judging panel made up of chefs, foodies and flavor experts will narrow down the contest submissions to four regionally inspired finalist flavors that will then be fully developed by Frito-Lay’s culinary experts and brought to market this summer. From there, it will be up to fans to vote for the finalist flavor they want to see stay on store shelves. The winning flavor – as determined by fan votes – will be revealed in the fall. The three runner-up finalists will each win $50,000 in prize money, with the grand prize winner taking home$1 million or one percent of his or her flavor’s net sales (whichever is higher) for the period July 15, 2015through July 15, 2016.