Product type Corn chip Website Official Website | Owner Frito-Lay | |
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Introduced 1932; 85 years ago (1932) Related brands | ||
Fritos is a brand of corn chips and dipping sauces created in 1932 by Charles Elmer Doolin and produced since 1959 by Frito-Lay. They are made from a deep-fried extrusion of masa.
Contents
Origins
According to popular lore, Fritos hail from San Antonio, Texas, where C. E. Doolin, who apparently had an obsession with making a snack based on corn that would not go stale too quickly, found a local man who had deep-fried corn snacks made from an extrusion of masa. Doolin bought the man's patent and recipe, and with the help of his mother perfected the recipe in his own kitchen (in much the same way that he later invented Cheetos). He began selling Fritos in 1932 under the moniker of the Frito Corporation. Original Fritos ingredients were limited to whole corn, corn oil, and salt.
From 1952–67, the Frito Kid was the company's official mascot. The Frito Bandito was its mascot from 1967 until about 1971, and was discontinued due to complaints about the Bandito image. He was initially replaced by the Muncha Bunch, a group of cowboys, which then were replaced by W.C. Fritos, modeled after comedian W.C. Fields.
Varieties
Additionally, a sub-brand called Flavor Twists is produced in two flavors in the United States:
In addition, Fritos also distributes its own dipping sauces
Discontinued variations: