Frito-Lay Tour (Killingly, CT)

Last week, I had the opportunity to tour the Frito-Lay manufacturing facility in Killingly, Connecticut with some fantastic New York and Massachusetts bloggers.  I didn't know a lot of the people going to this but I was ecstatic to find out that the fabulous Chelsee from We Are Not Martha would also be attending and we luckily ended up spending the entire day together.

When I arrived at the facility, I saw this lighthouse at the entrance. 

I later learned that "Passion and Pride - Winning Together!" is the site vision of the Killingly facility, which is the fifth largest Frito-Lay facility in the country.  I saw just how large the facility was during the tour, but before the day's activities began, we sat down to some lunch, which included of course lots of different options of Frito-Lay products. 

After skipping breakfast, I had a hearty lunch with a crab salad wrap, salad and veggies...a few spoonfuls of soup...and of course some chips!

Did you know that Miss Vickie's chips are a Frito-Lay product? I didn't! I happily munched on the jalapeno chips, which were seriously spicy!

But then it was back to business and we got started on learning about Frito-Lay's commitment to its products, partners, planet and people. 

To be honest, I was surprised at Frito-Lay's level of commitment to health and wellness.  I learned some new interesting facts, such as:

• Many of Frito-Lay's products are made with three simple ingredients - corn or potatoes, healthier oils and salt.
• In 2003, Frito-Lay was the first major food company to remove trans fat from its entire snack chip product lines.

And I was even more surprised to learn about Frito-Lay's sustainability efforts.  For instance, did you know that:

• At the Killingly facility, over 98% of the waste generated is recycled and that the site produces 95% of the facility's energy using co-generation technology.
• All Frito-Lay facilities are working towards "zero landfill" status with the goal of diverting 99% of waste from landfills.

The folks at the Killingly facility were all incredibly proud of their place of employment and I got an in-depth look at how a chip is made - from the corn and potato shipment to the warehouse.  We weren't allowed to take photos during the tour for proprietary reasons but here are some photos that the PR folks took during the day that I wanted to share. 

The highlight of this tour was definitely seeing every step of the process leading up the seasoning step...where we got to taste fresh classic potato chips, wavy chips, Doritos and Fritos right off the line.  I don't even like Frito chips and yet I couldn't resist.  There is nothing quite like a warm chip straight off the line!

As a sidenote, there are ZERO photos of me in here because I have learned that I will never be able to rock a hairnet with safety glasses.  Ever.

Bad fashion aside, I had a great time at the Frito-Lay tour.  My perspective on this company has definitely changed since the tour.  Thanks to the folks at Frito-Lay and Ketchum for inviting me to this event!