Herman Lay
Encyclopedia
Herman W. Lay was a Nashville
, Tennessee
, USA
businessman who started H.W. Lay Co., Inc., now part of the Frito-Lay
corporation.
Lay began his career as a 24-year-old delivery driver. As a travelling salesman for the Barrett Food Company, he delivered potato chips to his customers in his Ford
Model A
. Lay's territory eventually expanded and his profits began to grow. In 1934, he founded the H.W. Lay Distributing Company based in Atlanta, Georgia
, a distributor for the Barrett Food Products Company, and began to hire employees. By 1937, Lay had 25 employees, and had begun producing his own line of snack foods.
The H.W. Lay & Company merged with The Frito Company in September 1961, creating the largest-selling snack food company in the United States
, the Frito-Lay
corporation.
In 1965, Herman W. Lay (Chairman and Chief executive officer of Frito-Lay) and Donald M. Kendall
(President and Chief executive officer of Pepsi-Cola) merged the two companies and formed PepsiCo, Inc
.
He died at the age of 73 in 1982.
Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville is the capital of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat of Davidson County. It is located on the Cumberland River in Davidson County, in the north-central part of the state. The city is a center for the health care, publishing, banking and transportation industries, and is home...
, Tennessee
Tennessee
Tennessee is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States. It has a population of 6,346,105, making it the nation's 17th-largest state by population, and covers , making it the 36th-largest by total land area...
, USA
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
businessman who started H.W. Lay Co., Inc., now part of the Frito-Lay
Frito-Lay
Frito-Lay North America is the division of PepsiCo that manufactures, markets and sells corn chips, potato chips and other snack foods. The primary snack food brands produced under the Frito-Lay name include Fritos corn chips, Cheetos cheese-flavored snacks, Doritos and Tostitos tortilla chips,...
corporation.
Lay began his career as a 24-year-old delivery driver. As a travelling salesman for the Barrett Food Company, he delivered potato chips to his customers in his Ford
Ford Motor Company
Ford Motor Company is an American multinational automaker based in Dearborn, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit. The automaker was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. In addition to the Ford and Lincoln brands, Ford also owns a small stake in Mazda in Japan and Aston Martin in the UK...
Model A
Model A
Model A may refer to:* Ford Model A , a model of car built by the Ford Motor Company* Ford Model A , a model of car built by the Ford Motor Company* One of the letter-series models of Farmall tractors...
. Lay's territory eventually expanded and his profits began to grow. In 1934, he founded the H.W. Lay Distributing Company based in Atlanta, Georgia
Atlanta, Georgia
Atlanta is the capital and most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia. According to the 2010 census, Atlanta's population is 420,003. Atlanta is the cultural and economic center of the Atlanta metropolitan area, which is home to 5,268,860 people and is the ninth largest metropolitan area in...
, a distributor for the Barrett Food Products Company, and began to hire employees. By 1937, Lay had 25 employees, and had begun producing his own line of snack foods.
The H.W. Lay & Company merged with The Frito Company in September 1961, creating the largest-selling snack food company in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, the Frito-Lay
Frito-Lay
Frito-Lay North America is the division of PepsiCo that manufactures, markets and sells corn chips, potato chips and other snack foods. The primary snack food brands produced under the Frito-Lay name include Fritos corn chips, Cheetos cheese-flavored snacks, Doritos and Tostitos tortilla chips,...
corporation.
In 1965, Herman W. Lay (Chairman and Chief executive officer of Frito-Lay) and Donald M. Kendall
Donald M. Kendall
Donald Mcintosh Kendall is a former businessman, political adviser. He is a former CEO of Pepsi Cola and served as CEO of PepsiCo from 1971 to 1986....
(President and Chief executive officer of Pepsi-Cola) merged the two companies and formed PepsiCo, Inc
PepsiCo
PepsiCo Inc. is an American multinational corporation headquartered in Purchase, New York, United States, with interests in the manufacturing, marketing and distribution of grain-based snack foods, beverages, and other products. PepsiCo was formed in 1965 with the merger of the Pepsi-Cola Company...
.
He died at the age of 73 in 1982.