The snack savant has grown into a junk food genius. Lindsay, 40, hit on a winning formula with Rap Snacks, a line of chips and popcorn aimed at urban youngsters. The 1-oz., 25-cent bags feature popular rappers like Lil' Romeo and Warren G, as well as positive messages such as "Stay in school" and "Respect your elders." Lindsay says he sells about 2 million bags a week in corner stores in some of the country's poorest neighborhoods, raking in, according to Lindsay, between $4 million and $5 million a year for his two-employee company. "I tapped into a market the giant companies aren't interested in," he says. "They're very scared to touch something as controversial as rap."
Not Lindsay, raised in rough-and-tumble North Philadelphia by his mother, Delores, a cashier. He earned a marketing degree from Cheyney University of Pennsylvania and learned the snack business as a salesman for Warner-Lambert, maker of Certs and Sugar Babies. After quitting he tested his own chip on—who else?—his three older sisters. In 1995 he persuaded store owners to sell his first product, a sweet honey-barbecue chip.
Adding hip-hop stars to the mix (a music company pays Lindsay an advertising fee) helped boost sales; now there are 10 different Rap Snacks available in dozens of cities. Single and a terror on PlayStation 2, Lindsay—who lives in Philly's East Falls section—next hopes to conquer the suburbs. "Suburban kids will buy whatever city kids think is cool," he says. "So we'll keep developing flavors and using artists that make the kids say, 'Wow.'"
Saved by the Bell Reunion
The hookups, the meltdowns, the memoires
The case reveals what was really going on what they think of each other now!
