Who invented Fritos corn chips in 1932?

Charles Elmer Doolin invented and commercialized Fritos corn chips in 1932. He founded the Frito Corporation after purchasing a corn-chip recipe, equipment, and 19 retail accounts for $100.

Doolin had tasted corn chips at a Mexican restaurant in San Antonio, Texas, where he managed the Highland Park Confectionery. The recipe itself was developed by Gustavo Olguin, but Doolin bought the rights and turned the product into a growing packaged-snack business. That makes Doolin the standard answer to who invented Fritos.

The name Frito comes from the Spanish and Portuguese word for “fried.” Early production took place in Doolin’s mother’s kitchen and later expanded into a garage operation. The family initially produced only about 10 pounds of chips per day.

A common mix-up is Herman Lay, whose company later became part of Frito-Lay. Doolin’s Frito Corporation and Lay’s potato-chip business merged in 1961; the combined company later joined Pepsi-Cola to form PepsiCo in 1965.