Fritos have been a beloved snack for more than 80 years, in the US and worldwide. Their
crispy, crunchy, salty goodness is good to munch on their own, or to cook with. Fritos
are a classic ingredient in Southern US cooking, pairing gorgeously with everything from chili
to soup. So let’s open a bag of 10 Fritos facts that will make you hungry for them.
Fritos are exactly what it says on the bag
The name that Charles Elmer Doolin, founder of The Fritos Company, gave his fried corn
chips perfectly fits the product. The Spanish-speaking among you might be clued in already - Fritos
comes from the Spanish ‘Frito’, meaning fried. When Doolin first came across fried
masa treats, it was being sold in bags by a Mexican outside of a gas station. The corn
chips, locally called ‘fritos’, were commonly sold by the beach. After trying them, Doolin
purchased the recipe from the man, and decided to keep the name in place. According to the
Smithsonian, the origin of the ‘Fritos’ name may have also been from the Americanization
of the word ‘fritas’, which literally translates into ‘little fried things’.
The reason behind the name of Cheetos, which are also made by the Frito Company, also comes
from the word Frito. Again, the name describes the recipe for the cheesy puffs, as it is
a mash-up of ‘cheese’ and Fritos’. Flash forward 70 years and they have both become
household names, and taste just as good as they sound.
Fritos pre-date commercial tortilla chips.
While the recipe for tortillas existed before the recipe for Fritos, Fritos were sold by
The Frito Company more than 10 years before the first mass-produced tortilla chip was
sold by a company in Los Angeles. In fact, Fritos were first put on the market by The
Frito Company in 1932. Fritos had pretty humble beginnings. Amazingly, this company was run
by Doolin from his mother's kitchen. To start off the company, Doolin borrowed $100 to buy
the recipe, a potato ricer, and retail accounts from a corn chip manufacturer. Alongside his
family, Doolin produced 10 pounds of Fritos a day from the family kitchen. This got them
around $2 a day of profit, allowing them to expand quickly. In just one year, they increased
their production rate by 10 times! By 1947, around the time tortilla chips were first
being sold, The Fritos Company had already expanded into Dallas, Tulsa, Los Angeles,
and Denver. This gave The Frito Company a head start, and by 1955, they had over 50
production plants all over the US, and even one in Venezuela!
The Fritos Mascot was redesigned due to controversy
For those who are unfamiliar, the mascot for Fritos used to be a character called ‘Frito
Bandito’, who was a Mexican stereotype. This mascot was designed and used from 1967
to 1971, and was created by Tex Avery, the cartoonist responsible for characters such
as Bugs Bunny, Porky Pig, Daffy Duck and more! The voice of the character was provided by
Mel Blanc (aka Bugs Bunny), who sang about Fritos in the advert. Similar to Lucky Charms,
the character was known for trying to steal Fritos back from whoever had got their hands
on them. Despite the talent that had been used to create the character, Frito Bandito
was not well received, as he was hitting Mexican stereotypes pretty hard and making buyers
uncomfortable. The mascot was promptly removed, and replaced by the Muncha Bunch, a ragtag
group of lovable cowboys. These mascots, while harmless, were retired in less than a year,
giving way to the most famous Fritos mascot, W. C. Frito, who was a caricature of actor
and comedian W. C. Fields. This prompted a remarkable recovery for Fritos, as this character
was much more beloved and stayed out of controversy. Instead of stealing Fritos, W. C. Fritos instead
promoted Fritos as a way of keeping the pesky kids quiet. Although Frito Bandito was possibly
the worst mascot imaginable, it is always a good thing when brands listen to their customers
and learn from their mistakes.
Many Fritos flavors are only available in South Africa.
Fritos were founded in America and have remained an American favorite ever since. So, how did
Fritos become popular in South Africa? Fritos began trading there back in 1963, after The
Frito Company merged with Lays to become Frito-Lay. The merger gave the money and resources to
expand outside of America further. They have since become a household name in South Africa,
and it is now home to quite a few special flavors, not available anywhere else! These
include Tomato Sauce, Sweet Chilli, Chutney and Peri Peri. Unbelievable that these flavors
are just out of reach; they sound amazing. It’s not just flavors that are exclusive
to South Africa, too. They have their very own type of Fritos called Waves, which have
a different shape to the classic chip. Rather than the usual curled chip, these have ridges
for extra crunch. Although South Africa has the best range, it’s not the only country
with different flavors to the US. For example, Canada is home to Bar-B-Q hoops, which are
very popular. In Mexico, Fritos flavors include Salt and Lime, Chorizo and Chipotle, and Adobados.
Sounds delicious, right? Well, you can buy them online! There’s a whole world of Fritos
out there!
Fritos joined Lays to conquer America
The Fritos Company grew quickly after its founding and took the South of the US by storm.
Fritos were one of the only big names for chips during the 1930s. One of the other big
names was Lays. Also starting out in 1932, Lays began in Tennessee as a small potato
chip distributor. After economic struggles for the manufacturer, H. W. Lay & Company
was founded, and they began creating their very own potato chips. Both Lays and Fritos
were popular throughout the 1940s, both in the South. While Lays had customers in the
Southeast, Fritos was a bigger name in the Southwest, and both were limiting the others
success. They brokered a deal to distribute and sell one another’s chips in their respective
areas. Genius! These two snack giants became one in 1961 with an official merger. This
new company was aptly called ‘Frito-Lay Inc.’, and it continued to absorb other
snack companies into its family. In 1965, Pepsi merged with Frito-Lay, and became a
complete titan of the industry, leading the entire snack industry in the US. When Eagle
Snacks threatened their business, PepsiCo began the Great Potato Chip War (yes, that’s
really what it was called). After more than 10 years, Fritos won this battle, driving
Eagle Snacks into closure. It’s like a real-life Game of Thrones!
Doolin’s Mom used Fritos for cooking
The founding of The Fritos Company was supported by Charles Doolin’s mother, Daisy Doolin,
from the start. It is said that the recipe was originally bought with the money she made
from her pawning her own wedding ring. Along with the money, Daisy Doolin gave her kitchen
to the company, allowing the chips to be produced there until the company found its feet. While
she was helping to manufacture the chips, she was also creating recipes with Fritos
to show others how versatile Fritos were. Along with Charles Doolin’s wife, she created
a recipe book full of these concoctions, and some were even printed on the back of chip
packets. Among these recipes were ‘Fritos Squash’, ‘Frito Fruitcake’ and the infamous
‘Frito Pie’. The pie, also called a ‘walking taco’ and ‘Texas straw hat’, became
a hit in Texas, and is still popular to this day. It’s quick to make, and it requires
no culinary talent whatsoever. The most basic Fritos Pie is just a bag of Fritos with hot
Beef Chili piled on top, and a spoon to eat it with. You can add your own extras, like
jalapenos, sour cream or cheese to make the perfect pie for you. To this day, the legacy
of Doolin’s recipes continues, and Frito-Lay has a whole page of recipes for you to try,
such as ‘Jalapeno Cheddar Waffles’. Better get cooking!
The Fritos founder didn’t even eat them
Yes, that’s right! Fritos founder Charles Doolin did not eat his own chips! Don’t
get me wrong, Doolin really did love Fritos. Unfortunately, he had a strict diet which
prevented him from eating the chips. He followed Herbert Shelton’s diet plan, which claimed
that eating raw foods were the best way to avoid diseases. Because of this, Doolin avoided
eating meat and salt. This was quite an issue, as Doolin wanted to experiment with flavors,
and bring out many new types of Fritos. Instead of trying them himself, he often used his
family as the guinea pigs for these experiments, and through them, he was able to create many
of the flavors we know and love. Like the Beethoven of chips, Doolin designed new flavors
without ever being able to taste them.
There was a Fritos restaurant
After the Doolins proved what an amazing ingredient Fritos were, the next logical step was to
open up a restaurant devoted to these amazingly versatile chips. It’s a great idea, but
where were they going to set it up? Well, Doolin was quite the businessman, and was
an early investor in Disneyland. When it opened in 1955, Doolin set up his restaurant next
door to the streamboat ride. It’s a heck of a location! He called the Fritos food palace
‘Casa de Fritos’. True to its roots, it served mainly Mexican-inspired food such as
tacos, Frito Pies and tamales. As if this chip restaurant wasn’t interesting enough,
it was also promoted by a mechanical Frito Kid, who was the mascot at the time. Not only
could he talk, he could also lick his lips, and give out Fritos. If you gave him a nickel,
the Frito Kid would call Klondike, who would ‘chip’ away inside the Frito mountain
until a freshly mined bag shot out of the machine. Sounds pretty cool to me! Doolin
spent big bucks on this expensive and complicated vending machine, and he had a lot of hope
in Casa de Fritos becoming a success. It never took off, and the store eventually shut down.
Doolin made special corn for his Fritos chips
The creator of Fritos wasn’t just a businessman, he was also something of a scientist and engineer.
Although he did not think up the original recipe, he made plenty of edits to the chip.
Apart from creating new flavors, Doolin also experimented with the corn itself, to find
the best tasting and highest quality produce he could achieve. He created many corn hybrids,
which allowed him to have genetically different strains, all with their own special tastes.
To find the perfect corn, Doolin asked Texan farmers to plant many varieties of hybrid
corn and allow him to taste them. This soon became the secret ingredient in Fritos, giving
them their distinctive taste. Doolin didn’t stop there - he personalized every step of
production to create the best chip possible. He tinkered with the chips in ‘hidden kitchens’,
which were scattered everywhere, including in his factories, his lab and in his house.
After hearing of Ford’s production line, he began using this to mass produce the chips
in the early days of its expansion. It’s not just the corn, either. Doolin also taught
himself how to improve the crop soil, and even created his own type of vegetable oil
for frying the chips. He really was a jack of all trades and worked hard to ensure that
every step, from seed to chip, was good enough to make the perfect Frito.
There was more than one Frito family
The founding of The Frito Company was a real family affair, led by Charles Doolin. As the
company grew from these wholesome foundations, Doolin was keen to keep the idea of family
and community alive among his staff. He went as far as to call his employees the ‘Frito
Family’. He often called staff into the ‘hidden kitchens’ to get their opinions
on his latest flavors. The members of the Frito Family were also given discounts on
company shares, allowing them to get truly invested in the company. Just like a regular
family, they often had holiday parties together, and Doolin would take these opportunities
to mingle with the staff. He also provided awards to employees who were particularly
brilliant, or who had spent many years with the Frito Family. By keeping the staff happy,
he ensured that his baby, the Frito, was always made with care. Who knew that the secret ingredient
was love all along? No where’s that bag of Fritos? I think it’s time for a snack.
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