Editing Lay's (section)

== History ==
In 1932, salesman [[Herman Lay]] opened a [[snack food]] operation in [[Nashville, Tennessee]].<ref>{{cite news |title=HERMAN W. LAY, 73, IS DEAD; SUCCESS TIED TO POTATO CHIPS|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1982/12/07/obituaries/herman-w-lay-73-is-dead-success-tied-to-potato-chips.html |work=[[The New York Times]]|access-date=10 October 2018 |date=7 December 1982|last=Thomas, Jr.|first=Robert McG.}}</ref> In 1938, he purchased the [[Atlanta, Georgia]]-based potato manufacturer "Barrett Food Company", renaming it "H.W. Lay Lingo & Company". Lay crisscrossed the [[southern United States]], selling the product from the trunk of his car.

In 1961, the Frito Company, founded by Charles E. Doolin, merged with Lay’s, forming Frito-Lay Inc., a snack food giant with combined sales of over $127 million annually, which was then the highest sales revenue earned by any manufacturer. Shortly thereafter, Lay's introduced what became its best-known slogan: "betcha can't eat just one". Sales of the chips became international, with marketing assisted by a number of celebrity endorsers. Annual revenues for Frito-Lay exceeded $180 million by 1965, when the company had more than 8,000 employees and 46 manufacturing plants.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Frito-Lay Company |website= Encyclopedia.com |url=https://www.encyclopedia.com/books/politics-and-business-magazines/frito-lay-company |access-date=2022-04-20 }}</ref>

In 1965, Frito-Lay merged with the Pepsi-Cola Company to form [[PepsiCo]], Inc. In 1991, the company introduced a new formulation of their chip that was crisper and kept fresher longer. Shortly thereafter, the company introduced the "Wavy Lay's" products to grocery shelves, with a national rollout in 1994.<ref>{{cite magazine|title=Frito Takes to Gridiron, Calls 'Rollout' for Wavy Lays|magazine=Brandweek|publisher=Adweek|location=New York|date=1994-01-03|page=5|id={{ProQuest|218067617}}}}</ref> In the mid- to late 1990s, Lay's introduced a lower-[[calorie]] [[baked]] variety, and a fat-free variety ([[Lay's WOW chips]]) that contained the [[fat substitute]] [[olestra]].

In the 2000s, the company introduced “kettle-cooked” varieties, as well as a more highly processed variety ([[Lay's Stax]]) that was intended to compete with [[Pringles]],<ref>{{Cite web|last=snackgirl|date=2008-09-03|title=Pringles vs Stax|url=https://secondratesnacks.com/pringles-vs-stax|access-date=2020-09-10|website=Second Rate Snacks|language=en-us}}</ref> and several differently flavored varieties.

In 2012, Frito-Lay products comprised 59% of the United States savory snack-food market.<ref>{{Cite web |title=How it all began - Frito Lay |url=http://www.fritolay.com/about-us/history.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120412105044/http://www.fritolay.com/about-us/history.html |archive-date=April 12, 2012 |access-date=2024-12-22 |website=fritolay.com}}</ref>

In April 2019, [[PepsiCo]]'s Indian subsidiary sued four farmers in [[Gujarat|Gujarat, India]] for copyright infringement, claiming they were growing a variety of potatoes trademarked by the company for exclusive use in its Lay's potato chips.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.cnn.com/2019/04/25/business/pepsico-india-potato-farmer-lawsuit/index.html|title=PepsiCo is suing farmers in India for growing the potatoes it uses in Lays chips|author=Rishi Iyengar|website=CNN|date=25 April 2019|access-date=2019-04-26}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.thehindu.com/business/Industry/potato-farmers-cry-foul-as-pepsico-sues-them/article26936480.ece|title=Potato farmers cry foul as PepsiCo sues them|last=Jebaraj|first=Priscilla|date=2019-04-25|work=The Hindu|access-date=2019-04-26|language=en-IN|issn=0971-751X}}</ref> Two years later, the ruling was done in the farmers' favour under the [[PPVFR Act|Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers' Rights Act, 2001]].<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/pepsico-loses-rights-to-special-lays-variety-potato-in-india/article37831634.ece|title=PepsiCo loses rights to special Lays variety potato in India|last=Jebaraj|first=Priscilla|date=3 December 2021|access-date=2021-12-04|work=The Hindu}}</ref>