Tostitos is a brand of Frito-Lay that produces different tortilla chips and a range of accompanying dips. By January 1978, Frito-Lay's product development group led by Jack Liczkowski had completed development of Tostitos. The chips were round, made of white corn and had an authentic "Mexican" flavor. Part of achieving this authenticity occurred after research discovered that Mexicans, after cooking corn with inorganic lime, did not rinse the corn completely and so the resulting stone-ground corn masa has a higher content of lime and lower pH. When frying the formed chips, calcium hydroxide reacts with oil and gives this specific taste.
After successful test marketing in 1979, Tostitos Traditional Flavor and Tostitos Nacho Cheese Flavor went into national distribution in 1980 in the United States and reached sales of $140 million, making it one of the most successful new product introductions in Frito-Lay history. The chips are often eaten with a dip like salsa or nacho cheese, both of which the company also produces.
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