'China Is a Big Prize'

摘要

When david wong was growing up in SOUTH-ern China in the 1970s he didn't even know what a potato chip was. He snacked on chewy malt candy, using rationing coupons to pay a street peddler who would chip off chunks of the candy with a small metal spike. It was the twilight of Maoism, China was poor and the concept of a modern supermarket was a decade away. Now Wong is a lieutenant' in the crusade by U.S. snacks giant Frito-Lay to push potato chips on a billion people long content to nibble on seasoned seaweed and dried prunes. Wong's territory is Shanghai (Lay's other stronghold is Beijing). Standing in an ultramodern hypermarket before a wall of Lay's products, he talks about the bright days ahead. It's a challenge to persuade a population to adopt novel food tastes, but this PepsiCo subsidiary is making a go of it. In Mandarin, Lay's is pronounced "Leshi" and thereby translates into "Happy Things."