Food For Thought

Q: I have a snack food product that I created and would like to introduce to Frito-Lay. How would I go about doing this? Is there a particular person I should contact, and how do I make that contact?
— S. Reed, Via the Internet

A: The timing for your new idea couldn’t be better. The snack food market is enjoying strong growth as changing consumer lifestyles indicate that “on-the-go” eating and snacking is on the rise. If you believe you can make a profit from your product, you should not introduce your unsolicited idea to Frito-Lay.

The company does not accept unsolicited product ideas for legal reasons. Frito-Lay’s online statement is that it does not “want any misunderstandings over the origin of an idea.”

According to the terms and conditions of Frito-Lay’s Website (www.frito lay.com), the company is free to use any ideas you send to the site for any purpose — including developing and manufacturing products — without any form of payment or compensation to you.

To find out what options you have regarding your product, you need to talk to industry experts who can help you make the right choices. Contact the Snack Food Association (www.sfa.org

, 800-628-1334) for answers about how to propose your snack food product to a manufacturer. Snack Food & Wholesale Bakery, a trade publication, may be able to offer guidance as well.