09 autumn reporter 1-20 - Franklin College

Marketing
exec strikes
gold with
“corny” idea
By Amy (Kean) VerSteeg ’96
Editor
It didn’t take long for Arch West ’36
to start chipping in merchandising ideas
after he went to work for the Frito Co.
(later Frito-Lay) in 1960. One of his
product innovations fused the texture of
a potato chip with the flavor of a corn
chip and featured a distinct shape; the
triangular tortilla chips better known
today as Doritos ® hit the market in 1962.
As West tells it, the product name
preceded the invention of the snack.
“When the head of the legal department
and I made a trip to Mexico City to register
the Frito name for international sales,
we began looking into how to associate
the Spanish language with the products.
We’d also been mulling over ideas for a
chip that wasn’t quite yellow or brown,
but somewhere in between. The Spanish
word ‘oro,’ meaning gold, seemed
to fit,” said West.
Spanish helped form the full name
Doritos, ® and with that the “little bits
of gold” were on their way to being
invented and test-marketed.
The first Doritos ® were made in a
laboratory, where baking experiments
were conducted with three types of corn.
Once West and the team found the right
combination of ingredients, a small,
privately-owned company in California
was selected to produce the snacks for
test-marketing in San Diego.
“The Nielsen Report indicated not
only strong sales but repeat purchases,”
said West. “We had to move fast after
that because word was getting out to
our competitors.”
A lot about Doritos ® has changed
since the Frito Co. introduced the original
product 47 years ago. According to the
company Web site, there currently are
13 flavors, with mini-sized chips and
reduced-fat varieties also available.
West’s two favorite flavors, by the way,
are the Classic Nacho Cheese and Ranch.
One thing that hasn’t changed about
the chip is its unique shape, which
was chosen as the “sensible” solution,
said West.
“We found that cutting sheets of dough
into triangles yielded more products than
could be achieved with circles. In other
words, triangles reduced the amount of
leftovers. We also thought triangles were
the best shape for dips.”
If supply is a reflection of demand,
then consumers must agree that Doritos ®
are ideal. It’s practically impossible to walk
down the snack aisle of any retail location
without seeing a display. For West, it’s a
sight that never gets stale.
“When I go into a supermarket, I still get
a kick out of seeing Doritos. ® I think, ‘That
was my idea, and it’s still going.’” he said.
West’s success at the Frito Co. followed
several other executive positions, which
perhaps wouldn’t have been possible
without his first job after college.
“My mother’s brother was vice president
of a dairy company with a facility in
Wisconsin, and he invited me to take a
position there and start expanding on
my abilities,” said West. “I worked in
warehousing and transportation and
then in cheese quality control.”
West, who’d earned his bachelor’s
degree in business management, found
the behind-the-scenes work satisfying.
“I’d never had much interest in going
and punching typewriter keys,” said West.
“I was more excited about marketing and
the ideas and creativity involved in making
a product to sell.”
Just as West was starting to find a career
niche in the food industry, civic duty
called, and he enlisted in service with the
U.S. Navy. After an honorable discharge,
he returned to the food industry and
landed a position with Standard Brands,
the parent company of Tender Leaf ® tea,
Royal ® gelatin and Blue Bonnet ®
margarine, among others.
Many times West was transferred to a
new city to take on fresh assignments for
Standard Brands; he spent time living and
working in Philadelphia, Chicago and
Kansas City.
“I never got bored. The company
kept me moving around to different
departments. I had the chance to work
in finance, sales, raw materials and
acquisitions.”
58 FRANKLIN REPORTER WWW.FRANKLINCOLLEGE.EDU