Hostess Potato Chips
Encyclopedia
Hostess Potato Chips was the leading potato chip
brand in Canada
for many years. They fended off any attempt to displace them from their commanding position, and retained their #1 position into the 1980s, even in the face of increased competition from US-based companies entering the Canadian market. They eventually suffered serious brand erosion in the early 1990s with the introduction of various "upscale" brands such as Kettle Chips and Miss Vickie's. In 1996, the brand was replaced by Lay's
in a major re-branding exercise. Today, the Hostess brand is used only on a small number of products.
. Potato chips remained a fairly small part of the snack food market until the 1950s, when snack foods in general became much more widely available. In 1955, Snyder sold his company to E.W. Vanstone, who expanded the company greatly before selling his interest to General Foods
in 1959.
Hostess grew to become the #1 brand through this period and into the 1980s. Their powerful distribution channels made competing on price difficult, and shelf space for competing products was difficult to find, notably in smaller stores such as gas stations. The brand also gained a strong reputation for quality at the expense of other brands. Their packaging was instantly recognisable, featuring simple graphics and colour schemes. For much of the brand's history, only three flavours were sold; Regular in a blue package, Salt and Vinegar in yellow, and BBQ in deep red. The power of the brand was such that competitors generally used the same colours on their packaging as well, creating a standard of sorts.
In the mid-1970s, Hostess decided to expand their lineup and introduced three new flavours, Orange, Cherry and Grape. The attempt was a dismal failure, and the products disappeared from stores only a few months later. The products were so poorly received they remain a topic of derision to this day. Newer introductions followed, starting with the popular Sour Cream and Onion shortly after the fruit flavours disappeared. This was a huge success, and was followed by a series of other now-common flavours such as Dill Pickle and Ketchup.
In the 1980s, the chips had new mascots known as the Munchies, that were used for advertisements as well as appearing on the chip packaging. The Munchies were three friendly goblin-type creatures coloured red, orange, and yellow.
s to the market led to a partnership between Hostess and Frito Lay (owned by PepsiCo
) in 1987, bringing Doritos
to Canada for the first time. This was followed by the introduction of other Frito Lay brands, including Ruffles
, Tostitos
and Cheetos
. Oddly Lay's, Frito Lay's major US chip brand, was already being licensed for Canadian manufacture by another company. Hostess remained the major chip brand even after the arrangement. In 1992 Frito Lay purchased General Foods' interest in the joint company, then known as Hostess Frito Lay.
Through the 1990s a number of "boutique" brands introduced a wide variety of new chip flavours, a pattern that Hostess did not follow. Their brand value was enormously eroded, and they became known as a low-end brand in the same fashion that former Hostess competitors found themselves pushed into for many years. They retained their #1 position, but slipped in sales terms to holding about 10% of the market by the mid-1990s.
Former Hostess products were replaced or rebranded after the merger; Hostess Taquitos became Zesty Doritos; Cheddar and "nacho"-flavoured Crunchits were supplanted by corresponding flavours of Crunchy Cheetos (BBQ Crunchits had long since been out of production).
players such as Mark Messier
and Eric Lindros
launched the "new" brand in 1997, and within eighteen months Lay's was selling twice as much product as it had been with the Hostess name. Hostess has largely disappeared, and recently the company dropped "Hostess" from its name, becoming Frito Lay Canada.
In order to maintain its trademark protection on the Hostess brand, Frito Lay continues to sell Hostess-branded chips in some lower-end grocery stores, such as Food Basics, FreshCo and Price Chopper, albeit limited to its early 1990s lineup of flavours.
Potato chip
Potato chips are thin slices of potato that are deep fried...
brand in Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
for many years. They fended off any attempt to displace them from their commanding position, and retained their #1 position into the 1980s, even in the face of increased competition from US-based companies entering the Canadian market. They eventually suffered serious brand erosion in the early 1990s with the introduction of various "upscale" brands such as Kettle Chips and Miss Vickie's. In 1996, the brand was replaced by Lay's
Lay's
Lay's is the brand name for a number of potato chip varieties as well as the name of the company that founded the chip brand in 1932. Lay's chips has been marketed as a division of Frito-Lay, a company owned by PepsiCo since 1965...
in a major re-branding exercise. Today, the Hostess brand is used only on a small number of products.
Early history
Hostess was first formed in 1935 when Edward Snyder began cooking chips on his mother's kitchen stove in Breslau, outside Kitchener, OntarioKitchener, Ontario
The City of Kitchener is a city in Southern Ontario, Canada. It was the Town of Berlin from 1854 until 1912 and the City of Berlin from 1912 until 1916. The city had a population of 204,668 in the Canada 2006 Census...
. Potato chips remained a fairly small part of the snack food market until the 1950s, when snack foods in general became much more widely available. In 1955, Snyder sold his company to E.W. Vanstone, who expanded the company greatly before selling his interest to General Foods
General Foods
General Foods Corporation was a company whose direct predecessor was established in the USA by Charles William Post as the Postum Cereal Company in 1895. The name General Foods was adopted in 1929, after several corporate acquisitions...
in 1959.
Hostess grew to become the #1 brand through this period and into the 1980s. Their powerful distribution channels made competing on price difficult, and shelf space for competing products was difficult to find, notably in smaller stores such as gas stations. The brand also gained a strong reputation for quality at the expense of other brands. Their packaging was instantly recognisable, featuring simple graphics and colour schemes. For much of the brand's history, only three flavours were sold; Regular in a blue package, Salt and Vinegar in yellow, and BBQ in deep red. The power of the brand was such that competitors generally used the same colours on their packaging as well, creating a standard of sorts.
In the mid-1970s, Hostess decided to expand their lineup and introduced three new flavours, Orange, Cherry and Grape. The attempt was a dismal failure, and the products disappeared from stores only a few months later. The products were so poorly received they remain a topic of derision to this day. Newer introductions followed, starting with the popular Sour Cream and Onion shortly after the fruit flavours disappeared. This was a huge success, and was followed by a series of other now-common flavours such as Dill Pickle and Ketchup.
In the 1980s, the chips had new mascots known as the Munchies, that were used for advertisements as well as appearing on the chip packaging. The Munchies were three friendly goblin-type creatures coloured red, orange, and yellow.
Frito Lay
The introduction of corn chipCorn chip
A corn chip is a snack food made from cornmeal fried in oil or baked, usually in the shape of a small noodle or scoop. Corn chips are thick, rigid and very crunchy...
s to the market led to a partnership between Hostess and Frito Lay (owned by PepsiCo
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...
) in 1987, bringing Doritos
Doritos
Doritos is a brand of seasoned tortilla chips created by Arch West and produced since 1964 by the American food company Frito-Lay ....
to Canada for the first time. This was followed by the introduction of other Frito Lay brands, including Ruffles
Ruffles
Ruffles is the name of a brand of ruffled potato chips produced by Frito-Lay. Frito Company acquired the rights to Ruffles brand potato chips in 1958....
, Tostitos
Tostitos
Tostitos is a brand of tortilla chips and dips produced by Frito-Lay and introduced in 1979, with national distribution in the United States reached in 1981. They are made from all-white corn. Traditionally, Tostitos chips contain no extra flavoring or preservatives, and thus are advertised to be...
and Cheetos
Cheetos
Cheetos is a brand of cheese-flavored cornmeal snack made by Frito-Lay, a subsidiary of PepsiCo. Fritos creator Charles Elmer Doolin invented Cheetos in 1948, and began national distribution in the U.S. The initial success of Cheetos was a contributing factor to the merger between The Frito Company...
. Oddly Lay's, Frito Lay's major US chip brand, was already being licensed for Canadian manufacture by another company. Hostess remained the major chip brand even after the arrangement. In 1992 Frito Lay purchased General Foods' interest in the joint company, then known as Hostess Frito Lay.
Through the 1990s a number of "boutique" brands introduced a wide variety of new chip flavours, a pattern that Hostess did not follow. Their brand value was enormously eroded, and they became known as a low-end brand in the same fashion that former Hostess competitors found themselves pushed into for many years. They retained their #1 position, but slipped in sales terms to holding about 10% of the market by the mid-1990s.
Former Hostess products were replaced or rebranded after the merger; Hostess Taquitos became Zesty Doritos; Cheddar and "nacho"-flavoured Crunchits were supplanted by corresponding flavours of Crunchy Cheetos (BBQ Crunchits had long since been out of production).
Hostess no more
With the brand popularity falling, in 1996 it was decided to re-brand the product as Lay's. This presented no small amount of difficulty; the product was already on sale in Canada via a third party, and was considered even "lower end" than Hostess. An aggressive advertising campaign by BBDO Canada featuring famous hockeyHockey
Hockey is a family of sports in which two teams play against each other by trying to maneuver a ball or a puck into the opponent's goal using a hockey stick.-Etymology:...
players such as Mark Messier
Mark Messier
Mark Douglas Messier is a former Canadian professional ice hockey centre of the National Hockey League and current special assistant to the president and general manager of the New York Rangers. He spent a quarter of a century in the NHL with the Edmonton Oilers, New York Rangers, and Vancouver...
and Eric Lindros
Eric Lindros
Eric Bryan Lindros is a retired Canadian professional ice hockey player. Lindros played junior hockey in the OHL for the Oshawa Generals prior to being selected first overall in the 1991 NHL Entry Draft by the Quebec Nordiques...
launched the "new" brand in 1997, and within eighteen months Lay's was selling twice as much product as it had been with the Hostess name. Hostess has largely disappeared, and recently the company dropped "Hostess" from its name, becoming Frito Lay Canada.
In order to maintain its trademark protection on the Hostess brand, Frito Lay continues to sell Hostess-branded chips in some lower-end grocery stores, such as Food Basics, FreshCo and Price Chopper, albeit limited to its early 1990s lineup of flavours.