PLANO, Texas, April 30 /PRNewswire/ -- The SunChips brand celebrated a milestone in the rebuilding of the city of Greensburg, Kansas, which was tragically struck by a devastating tornado that destroyed nearly all of the community. The popular multigrain snack brand from Frito-Lay North America, a division of PepsiCo, opened the SunChips Business Incubator, which will house 10 local businesses and help provide the economic infrastructure to support the return of Greensburg residents.

"The SunChips brand is honored to be part of such an important day in Greensburg's revitalization," said Gannon Jones, vice president, portfolio marketing, Frito-Lay North America. "The SunChips philosophy is that small steps can make a big difference. Efforts such as this one are in line with PepsiCo's purpose agenda and our hope is that this step - helping business come back to Greensburg - will help further the town's rebirth as an eco-friendly community."

The Business Incubator utilizes solar panels, geothermal heating, natural day lighting and cisterns to collect rain water to help minimize its environmental footprint. A variety of businesses will be run from the Incubator including a paint center, law offices and art glass studio. In addition to the Business Incubator, the brand raised funds to help re-plant trees, as well as helping to rebuild the home of one of its own associates, which was devastated in the tornado.

The SunChips Business Incubator is another small step in the SunChips brand's sustainability journey. Most recently, the SunChips brand made two significant announcements. First, the SunChips brand announced that in 2010 it plans to introduce the first fully compostable snack chip bag made from plant-based renewable materials. In advance of Earth Day this year, the brand and National Geographic launched the Green Effect, a national initiative that encourages consumers to take their own small steps toward helping the planet. For more information on this initiative, please visit www.greeneffect.com.

On Earth Day 2008, the SunChips brand celebrated a major milestone by inaugurating a solar concentrator field at Frito-Lay's Modesto, California facility. There, the power of the sun is harnessed to help in the production of SunChips snacks. The Modesto plant is one of seven Frito-Lay plants across the country that makes SunChips snacks.

SunChips multigrain snacks, originally introduced in 1991, contain a full serving of whole grains, 0 grams of trans fats, and are made with sunflower oil. SunChips snacks, available in Original, Harvest Cheddar, French Onion, Garden Salsa and Peppercorn Ranch flavors, provide 18 grams of whole grains per one ounce serving from a blend of corn, oats and wheat.

Frito-Lay North America is the $11 billion convenient foods business unit of PepsiCo (NYSE:PEP) , which is headquartered in Purchase, NY. In addition to Frito-Lay, PepsiCo business units include Pepsi-Cola, Quaker Foods, Gatorade and Tropicana. Learn more about Frito-Lay at the corporate Web site, www.fritolay.com, and the Snack Chat blog, www.snacks.com.

Source: Frito-Lay North America

CONTACT: Aurora Gonzalez, Frito-Lay, +1-972-334-3821

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