PLANO, Texas, April 28, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- PepsiCo's Frito-Lay division today announced that its rapidly growing Facebook community set the Guinness World Records® title for "Most Fans on Facebook in 24 Hours," garnering 1,571,161 new "likes" (i.e., fans) on April 11, 2011. As a thank you for setting this groundbreaking 24-hour record, Frito-Lay will reward its fans by giving away 24,000 bags of chips made with all natural ingredients. Beginning April 29, 2011 at 2 p.m. CDT, the first 24,000 consumers that have "liked" the Frito-Lay Facebook page www.facebook.com/fritolay and registered on a special product giveaway tab will receive a coupon for a free bag of chips valued at $3.99. For more information and complete details about the product giveaway, please visit www.fritolay.com or www.facebook.com/fritolay.

The record-setting surge in Frito-Lay Facebook page "likes" on April 11, 2011, was sparked by a campaign the company kicked-off that very day. That campaign provided a behind-the-scenes look at how Frito-Lay's newest product flavors made with all natural ingredients are created in the Frito-Lay Flavor Kitchen – the company's key flavor development center located at its headquarters in Plano, Texas. The primary goal was to get consumers involved in the process, using Facebook as a central hub of activity.  

Key campaign elements included: a replica Flavor Kitchen created in Times Square with live cooking demonstrations streamed to the Frito-Lay Facebook page; a sweepstakes on the Frito-Lay Facebook page that gave consumers the chance to win some of the same premium Electrolux appliances that were used by the Frito-Lay chefs in the Times Square Flavor Kitchen; targeted media on Facebook; a sponsored integration in Zynga's FarmVille that gave FarmVille players the chance to harvest sponsored-in game crops for the chance to earn exclusive virtual goods; and, the official launch of a series of online cooking webisodes available on the Frito-Lay Facebook page and featuring the Flavor Kitchen team.

"When we set out to share the latest news around our product portfolio and the culinary inspiration behind our newest products made with all natural ingredients, we wanted to do it in a way that truly engaged our fans in the story," said Ram Krishnan, senior director, marketing, Frito-Lay. "Our fans responded in the biggest way possible – by setting a Guinness World Record for their engagement with us. It's a remarkable achievement and we're excited to thank the fans who made it possible."

Earlier this year, Frito-Lay announced that approximately 50 percent of its product portfolio will be made with all natural ingredients by the end of 2011, representing the largest product transformation in the company's history. These products do not have any artificial or synthetic ingredients, and they do not contain any artificial flavors or artificial preservatives, or ingredients such as monosodium glutamate (MSG). These products are easily identifiable in stores with a stamp on the package that calls out that the product is made with all natural ingredients, with no MSG, artificial preservatives or artificial flavors.

About Frito-Lay

Frito-Lay North America is the $13 billion convenient foods business unit of PepsiCo (NYSE: PEP), which is headquartered in Purchase, NY.  Learn more about Frito-Lay at the corporate Web site, http://www.fritolay.com/, the Snack Chat blog, http://www.snacks.com/ and on Twitter at www.twitter.com/fritolay.

About PepsiCo

PepsiCo offers the world's largest portfolio of billion-dollar food and beverage brands, including 19 different product lines that generate more than $1 billion in annual retail sales each. Our main businesses -- Quaker, Tropicana, Gatorade, Frito-Lay, and Pepsi Cola -- also make hundreds of other enjoyable and wholesome foods and beverages that are respected household names throughout the world. With net revenues of approximately $60 billion, PepsiCo's people are united by our unique commitment to sustainable growth by investing in a healthier future for people and our planet, which we believe also means a more successful future for PepsiCo. We call this commitment Performance with Purpose: PepsiCo's promise to provide a wide range of foods and beverages for local tastes; to find innovative ways to minimize our impact on the environment, including by conserving energy and water usage, and reducing packaging volume; to provide a great workplace for our associates; and to respect, support, and invest in the local communities where we operate. For more information, please visit www.pepsico.com.

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SOURCE Frito-Lay North America