Frito-Lay began in the early 1930s as two separate companies, The Frito Company and H.W. Lay & Company. The two merged in 1961 to form Frito-Lay, Inc. Four years later, in 1965, Frito-Lay, Inc. merged with the Pepsi-Cola Company, resulting in the formation of PepsiCo, Inc. Since that time, Frito-Lay has operated as a wholly owned subsidiary of PepsiCo. Through Frito-Lay, PepsiCo is the largest globally distributed snack food company in the world, with sales of its products in 2009 comprising 40 percent of all "savory snacks" sold in the United States and 30 percent of the non-U.S. market.[citation needed] Frito-Lay North America accounts for 31 percent of PepsiCo's annual sales.
n 1932, Charles Elmer Doolin, manager of the Highland Park Confectionery in San Antonio, purchased a corn chip recipe, a handheld potato ricer and 19 retail accounts from a corn chip manufacturer for $100, which he borrowed from his mother. Doolin established a new corn chip business, The Frito Company, in his mother's kitchen. Doolin and his mother and brother produced the corn chips, named Fritos, and had a production capacity of approximately 10 pounds per day. Doolin distributed the Fritos in 5¢ bags. Daily sales totaled $8 to $10 and profits averaged about $2 per day.[1] In 1933, the production of Fritos increased from 10 pounds to nearly 100 pounds due to the development of a "hammer" press. By the end of the year, production lines were operating in Houston and Dallas. The Frito Company headquarters also