Frito-Lay, owned by PepsiCo, is a well-known snack food provider in the USA. Most of their food products are international household names, including Lay’s, Cheetos, and Doritos. The company began in 1930; In 1961, HW Lay & Company merged with the Frito Company to form Frito Lay Inc. Their four most popular brands were Fritos, Lay’s, Cheetos, and Ruffles.
In 1965, Pepsi and Frito-Lay Inc merged, and Frito-Lay was absorbed under the PepsiCo brand. One of the central reasons for the merger was the access Pepsi offered to the international market.
Lays was the first brand of chips to be sold in all 50 states (in 1965). Soon after, other brands followed, with Frito-Lay expanding their product lines to include Doritos in 1966 and Funyuns in 1969. Munchos would follow in 1971. Doritos quickly dominated as their most popular option.
In the 1980s, Frito-Lay acquired other companies such as GrandMa’s cookies in 1980 and Smartfood popcorn in the late ’80s. Both brands remain popular today. New products have also been launched, such as Sun Chips and Lay’s new baked line (a healthier alternative to the standard fried chip).
Many brands and registered trademarks apply to the snack chip category, but they also have other snack brands such as Cracker Jack popcorn and Rold Gold Pretzels. Other products are also available, the Quaker Oats Co was acquired in a merger with PepsiCo in 2001 and brought along products such as rice cakes and chewy granola bars.
Overall, Frito-Lay is a corporate giant, with Forbes reporting their value to be upwards of $16 billion.
Popular Frito-Lay Trademarks
Over the years, Frito-Lay North America Inc has amassed a huge array of related brands and products, meaning it’s unsurprising that they have an impressive portfolio of trademarks registered with the united states patent and trademark office (USPTO). We’ll take a look at some of Frito-Lay’s most popular trademarks.
Ruffles
Ruffles are a baked potato chip brand that offers a healthier alternative to the usually fried chip brands, containing up to 70% less fat. Ruffles’ registration date was in 1948 and applies in the following categories:
- Potato chips and snacks
- Dairy-based dips
Doritos
Doritos are a popular tortilla chip snack launched in 1964, today, Doritos are sold on every continent. The trademark registration took place in the same year and applies to the following categories:
- Corn chips/potato chips
- Pretzels and nutmeats
- Crackers
”Frito Lay! Good for the fun of it” logo
This Frito Lay Logo, featuring a ribbon with the words ”Frito Lay” inscribed above ”Good for the fun of it” in a plain font, was registered in 2008 and applies to the following categories:
- Fried pork rinds
- Potato-based snack foods such as potato chips
- Snack foods such as corn chips, tortilla chips, puffed corn snacks
- Ready-to-eat popcorn including caramel-coated ready-to-eat popcorn
- Condiments such as salsa and hot sauces
- Bagel pieces and crackers
Lays logo
The popular yellow and red Lays logo dates back to 1997. The most recent variation of the logo includes a yellow circle behind a red banner containing the word “Lays” in white and is registered in the following categories:
- Cookies, sweet snacks, and croissants
- Potato chips and other potato-based foods
- Snack dips; snack food dips
Read more on trademarking your logo
Fritos Logo
The Fritos logo, which features stylized font over a white circle, has been in use since 1991, though the official trademark registration didn’t take place until 2002. The trademark applies in the following categories:
- Packaged meals including chili
- Corn-based snack foods, including corn chips and puffed corn
Tostitos
Tostitos is a Frito-Lay brand that offers a range of tortilla chips and accompanying dips. The wordmark for the name Tostitos was first registered in 1977 and applies to the following categories:
- Tortilla chips
- Salsa dips
- Picante sauce
Sabritones
Sabritones are a traditional Mexican puffed wheat snack featuring traditional chili and lime flavorings. The Sabritones wordmark was first registered in 1982 and applies to:
- Wheat snack chips
Frito-Lay Flavor Kitchen
Frito-Lay says that the flavor Kitchen is responsible for testing out new recipes. In 2011, they trademarked Flavor Kitchen in the following category:
- Goods and services/entertainment services, specifically in webisodes and other online entertainment related to food testing and preparation
Pipers Crisp Co Logo
The Pipers Crisp Co Logo features ”Pipers Crisp Co” set inside a rectangular shaped carrier with the wording “made by farmers” highlighted with a line on each side and the “o” in ‘Co” underlined, a scene drawn above the wording comprised of a piper with his horn in a hat in a field with a forest behind him, the piper appearing between the words “Trade” and ”mark”.
The mark was registered in 2018 and applies to the following categories:
- Potato chips, vegetable chips, roasted nuts, snack food made from extruded vegetables, vegetable-based snack foods
- Cereal snack foods such as wholewheat crisps, rice crisps, and other crisps made from cereals
- Operation and administration of loyalty and incentive schemes, including providing incentive award programs by processing loyalty points for the purchase of company goods
Nut Harvest
Nut Harvest is a leading supplier of trail mixes, dried nuts, and snack bags containing nuts. The first recorded use was in 1985 and the trademark applies to the following categories:
- Processed nuts
- Cookies and snacks
Cracker Jack
Cracker Jack is a fairly new Frito-Lay brand specializing in selling popcorn and other snacks such as nuts. Cracker Jack is so popular because their snacks are packed with a small prize (of trivial value) inside. The trademark was first registered in 1998 and applies to the following categories.
- Temporary tattoos and stationery
- Brain teasers and optical illusions
- Popcorn-based snack foods
- Candied popcorn
Magic In Every Mix
Believed to be a part of a new marketing campaign/slogan, Frito-Lay has recently submitted a trademark application with the USPTO for the phrase ”Magic In Every Mix”. If approved, the mark will apply to the following categories:
- Bean dips and dairy-based dips
- Fruit-based snack foods
- Meat-based snack foods
- Pork rinds and potato-based snack foods
- Processed nuts and pumpkin seeds
- Vegetable-based snack foods
- Cookies, crackers, pretzels, and cheese flavored snacks
- Pita chips
- Flavored popcorn
Viva Spicy
Though they don’t seem to have used it in any marketing material yet, Viva Spicy has been trademarked by Frito-Lay since 2020 and applies to the following categories:
- Dips
- Corn-based snack foods
- Potato-based snack foods
Frito-Lay Good Fun Logo
The Frito-Lay Good Fun logo (trademarked in 2019) consists of the words ”Frito Lay” Inside a banner design that partially covers a circle above the words ”Good Fun” in Stylized font. The mark applies to the following categories:
- Dips
- Processed edible seeds
- Potato-based snack foods
- Cookies
- Corn-based snack foods
- Salsa and grain-based chips
Wrapping Up
Trademarking your distinctive brand features will protect your intellectual property from trademark infringement. PepsiCo Inc and Frito-Lay North America are prolific trademark owners. Frito-Lay alone has around 500 Trademarks, including active applications. PepsiCo, separately, has around 370.
