Date:07/11/2009 URL: http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2009/11/07/stories/2009110750890500.htm

Back Frito Lay plans ‘mega consumer engagement’

Our Bureau

Chennai, Nov. 6 PepsiCo India’s Frito Lay division has embarked on a mega consumer engagement programme which aims at getting its potato chips brand Lays’ next flavour from an Indian consumer.

Consumers can mail, SMS or snail mail their flavour suggestions to the company over a two-month period.

The winners, or the best workable flavour suggestion, will be selected by a panel of judges which includes Dr T.S.R. Murali, Director, R&D, PepsiCo India. The campaign will give the consumer an opportunity to co-create the flavour they like on Lays — the winner will receive Rs 50 lakh plus one per cent of the sales turnover from the new flavour which will be launched by the end of May 2010.

Pepsi’s R&D labs will work over two months on developing the flavours based on the suggestions. Ms Ruchira Jaitly, Vice-President, Marketing, PepsiCo’s Frito Lay Division, says co-creation on this scale with the Indian consumer has not happened in the FMCG space.

“Today’s youth are experimenting with their food; they are not interested in a one-way communication and want to be interactive,” she explains.

In the first phase between now and January 2010, consumers can send in their entries and four winning flavours will be selected and be launched in the market. The flavour which gets the largest number of votes will be judged the winner and take home the bounty.

Ms Jaitly says Frito’s earlier campaign, fight for your flavour, was an eye-opener for the company in terms of consumer interactivity and encouraged it to embark on this programme.