Frito-Lay tries to enter minds, lunch bags of women

Sorry, men: Baked Lay’s are no longer meant for you.
Frito-Lay, a division of PepsiCo, is overhauling all of its calorie-conscious snacks to make them appeal to women, including the baked versions of Lay’s, Fritos, Ruffles, Doritos, Cheetos and Tostitos; Smartfood; Flat Earth; and its 100-calorie packages of snacks.
It has researched women’s feelings about snacking and guilt to produce new packaging, new flavors and a new ad campaign, all in an effort to get women to eat Frito-Lay snacks.
Women are snacking more than men but are not eating as many Frito-Lay snacks, said Jill Nykoliation, the president of Juniper Park, the advertising agency that handled the Frito-Lay women’s project. “So if it’s, you’re snacking two times as much, but you’re not snacking with us, why, and what can we do for you?”
Frito-Lay is also trying to replicate its success with its good-for-you message on its SunChips brand, which is one of its fastest-growing, said Gannon Jones, the vice president for portfolio marketing at Frito-Lay North America.
Sales at Frito-Lay are strong: Frito-Lay North America posted 8 percent revenue growth and 7 percent profit growth in 2008. However, men’s growth in salty snacks is far outpacing women’s, Jones said.
According to Frito-Lay research, women snack only 14 percent of the time on salty foods. Women snack 25 percent of the time on sweet foods; the other 61 percent of snacking includes drinks, fruits and vegetables.
1. Will this new strategy work for women.
2. Men, or think like a man, would this hurt your consumption of baked goods?
3. Is frito-Lay making the right move here?
4. What could they do for men?