Hostess Potato Chips - Frito Lay

Frito Lay

The introduction of corn chips to the market led to a partnership between Hostess and Frito Lay (owned by PepsiCo) in 1987, bringing Doritos to Canada for the first time. This was followed by the introduction of other Frito Lay brands, including Ruffles, Tostitos and Cheetos. Oddly Lay's, Frito Lay's major US chip brand, was already being licensed for Canadian manufacture by another company. Hostess remained the major chip brand even after the arrangement. In 1992 Frito Lay purchased General Foods' interest in the joint company, then known as Hostess Frito Lay.

Through the 1990s a number of "boutique" brands introduced a wide variety of new chip flavours, a pattern that Hostess did not follow. Its brand value was enormously eroded, and they became known as a low-end brand in the same fashion that former Hostess competitors found themselves pushed into for many years. They retained their #1 position, but slipped in sales terms to holding about 10% of the market by the mid-1990s.

Former Hostess products were replaced or rebranded after the merger; Hostess Taquitos became Zesty Doritos; Cheddar and "nacho"-flavoured Crunchits were supplanted by corresponding flavours of Crunchy Cheetos (BBQ Crunchits had long since been out of production).