In the Pink: Frito-Lay and its Brands Encourage Women to 'Be Fearless' and Support Awareness and Early Detection of Breast Cancer

PLANO, Texas, May 19 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- SunChips multigrain snacks, Rold Gold pretzels and the Baked! line of products from PepsiCo's Frito-Lay division will donate $1 million to Susan G. Komen for the Cure, providing funding for educational materials and research to find the cures for breast cancer.

"As an avid supporter of Susan G. Komen for the Cure, Frito-Lay is joining the Komen promise to end breast cancer forever by directing this $1 million donation to help educate and empower scores of women to 'live fearlessly'," said Carrie Walsh, director, marketing, Frito-Lay North America.

Frito-Lay's supermarket chip aisles have received a makeover this month to help Komen for the Cure encourage women to 'be fearless' and promote the early detection of breast cancer. SunChips, Rold Gold and Baked! snack bags have a pink ribbon makeover, and there is in-store collateral and messaging to help teach women the steps to 'living fearlessly' against the risk for breast cancer by incorporating lifestyle practices that will help aid in early detection of the disease.

"Breast cancer is the most frequently diagnosed cancer and the leading cause of death among women worldwide," said Ambassador Nancy G. Brinker, founder and CEO for Komen for the Cure. "Frito-Lay's commitment to educating and empowering women to be aware of their personal risk for the disease and lead healthy lifestyles is critical to our work in ending breast cancer forever."

Practicing breast self-awareness including knowing one's personal risk for breast cancer; getting regular screenings; knowing what is considered "normal" for their breasts considering size, shape and appearance; and making healthy lifestyle choices may reduce risk for breast cancer. These choices include maintaining a healthy weight, which can be accomplished by cutting down on "bad" fats (saturated and trans fats) and eating more "good" fats (poly- and mono-unsaturated fats) like olive and canola oil.

Frito-Lay has a long-standing commitment to health and wellness. In the mid 80's, the company launched Reduced Fat Ruffles potato chips. In the early 90's, the great tasting Baked! Lay's potato crisps and Baked! Tostitos tortilla chips were first introduced. Frito-Lay also led the industry with its response to trans fats. In 2003, Frito-Lay eliminated trans fats from its entire snack chip portfolio by converting Cheetos, Doritos, and Tostitos chips to corn oil. In addition, the company listed trans fat on the nutritional panel of its snack chips more than two years in advance of the 2006 Food & Drug Administration mandate. Frito-Lay's core snack chip portfolio uses healthier oils that have lower amounts of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fats and higher amounts of the "good" monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats.

This year nearly 200,000 women and men will be diagnosed with breast cancer in the United States and more than 40,000 will die from the disease. Getting screened regularly for breast cancer is the best way for women to lower their risk of dying from the disease. When breast cancer is found before it spreads beyond the breast, the five-year survival rate in the U.S. is 98 percent, up from 74 percent in 1982.

Frito-Lay associates across the country will support local Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure® events through continued participation and fundraising. Frito-Lay's sales teams will install custom Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure point-of-sale collateral and host product sampling in-store in select locations throughout the year.

Frito-Lay is a member of the Susan G. Komen Million Dollar Council Elite, a special group of sponsors and partners who have committed to invest a financial contribution of $1 million annually in the fight to end breast cancer. Each of these organizations has found new and innovative ways to raise awareness about breast cancer and encourage people from all walks of life to get involved in finding the cures. In addition to the financial contribution, each of these organizations has involved customers and employees in raising awareness and hope to one day find the cure.

About Susan G. Komen for the Cure®

Nancy G. Brinker promised her dying sister, Susan G. Komen, she would do everything in her power to end breast cancer forever. In 1982, that promise became Susan G. Komen for the Cure and launched the global breast cancer movement. Today, Komen for the Cure is the world's largest grassroots network of breast cancer survivors and activists fighting to save lives, empower people, ensure quality care for all and energize science to find the cures. Thanks to events like the Komen Race for the Cure®, we have invested nearly $1.5 billion to fulfill our promise, becoming the largest source of nonprofit funds dedicated to the fight against breast cancer in the world. For more information about Susan G. Komen for the Cure, breast health or breast cancer, visit www.komen.org or call 1-877 GO KOMEN.

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.

PepsiCo offers the world's largest portfolio of billion-dollar food and beverage brands, including 19 different product lines that each generates more than $1 billion in annual retail sales. Our main businesses - Frito-Lay, Quaker, Pepsi-Cola, Tropicana and Gatorade - also make hundreds of other nourishing, tasty foods and drinks that bring joy to our consumers in more than 200 countries. With annualized revenues of nearly $60 billion, PepsiCo's people are united by our unique commitment to sustainable growth, called Performance with Purpose. By dedicating ourselves to offering a broad array of choices for healthy, convenient and fun nourishment, reducing our environmental impact, and fostering a diverse and inclusive workplace culture, PepsiCo balances strong financial returns with giving back to our communities worldwide. In recognition of its continued sustainability efforts, PepsiCo was named for the third time to the Dow Jones Sustainability World Index (DJSI World) and for the fourth time to the Dow Jones Sustainability North America Index (DJSI North America) in 2009. For more information, please visit www.pepsico.com.

SOURCE Frito-Lay