Lay's Will Change New Package for Potato Chip Since 2007

Lay's Potato Chips is out with its first packaging redesign since 2007. The redesigned potato chip bag and new logo give Lay's its first new look in 12 years. The new design covers all of its flavor varieties, including newest addition Flamin' Hot Dill Pickle.

Picture Source: Lay's Instagram

01、Why Lay's wants to change the package for all potato chip products?

Of course. Lay's is still the category leader in chips—per IRI, it claims a 75.9% market share. But there are by one count upwards of 40 companies making chips in America plus untold numbers of regional brands. (Search for “potato chips” on Amazon, and you’ll get 592 results.) Globally, potato chips are a $29 billion industry, according to Imarc Group, and it's expected to hit $35 billion in five years.

Which is to say that even a famous bag of chips like Lay's needs to stand out to stay relevant. And that marketing maxim probably explains why the design team at Lay's has spent the past two years working on a new design for its potato chip bags—a look that will begin its national rollout next week[1].

The brand's recent efforts have sought to appeal to younger consumers with a focus on social media. Lay's in July brought back its limited-run "Smiles" packaging that features photos of real people's smiles on some of its packaging. The first eight-week run of this campaign in 2018 resulted in a daily posting on social media of 700 selfies with the Lay's bags, according to the brand, as well as more than 30,00+ tweets with the campaign hashtag, 10,000 Instagram posts and 2.8 million shares of a special Snapchat filter[2].

Picture Source: Lay's official website

Similarly, Lay's last month put the fate of a potato character named Spud into the hands of its brand fans. More shares using the hashtag #SaveSpud would result in a pardon, but more #SizzleSpud shares meant he would achieve what the brand optimistically described as "every potato's dream" — becoming a Lay’s chip. A few days later, the brand announced on its Twitter account that "the people have spoken," and that "Spud lived out his dream and was SIZZLED."

02、What's the differences compare to the old one?

The new logo is smaller and centralized with radiating rings. The font is slightly different, with a cursive "y" and a somewhat smaller "L."

One of the biggest change to Lay's potato chip bags is the photography: The view of the chips is now shown from a "top-down" angle -- an homage to the rise of food photographers>Jon Guerra, senior director of design at Frito-Lay.

The redesign, which took two years to complete, is an attempt to keep the brand relevant in the era of social media and content regeneration, according to Guerra. "We wanted to convey with color photography and a logo refresh that Lay's is a joyful and flavorful brand," Guerra said[3].

Picture Source: CNN Business

03、What's the special meanings of the new design?

The most noticeable new element on the bag is these concentric rings that radiate from the badge. It is a metaphoric device meant to evoke the dual idea of reflection and induction. “Think of those rings as like radiation out from the sun,” Furlow said, adding that the rings are also “drawing you in.” Says Guerra: “You have the various degrees of tone, which actually create depth. It invites you in. Magnetism is the key word.”

Picture Source: Lay’s

For the logo, since the badge is already widely recognized, there was no need to change it much. Still, a few contemporizing adjustments were in order, such as shrinking up the banner and modernizing the typeface. “We wanted to take that existing logo and make it more modern and more contemporary without alienating our existing base, but also saying to a new users: There is something that’s relevant.” Guerra said.

04、What's the marketing strategies of Lay's for new package?

The packaging refresh of Lay's entire product roster is the latest effort by the PepsiCo brand to appeal to younger consumers. Changing the bag design to feature an Instagram-inspired view of the chip inside the bag helps bring the packaging more in-line with how millennial and Gen Z consumers are used to visualizing food. And while it didn't go as far as dropping its logo entirely, as Doritos recently did, a smaller logo and less text could help attract consumers that are fatigued by traditional marketing.

The Frito-Lay North America division continues to be the strongest performer in the PepsiCo family of brands, reporting in July a 5% organic revenue growth for Q2. These millennial- and Gen Z-focused efforts could help Lay's continue to drive revenue growth for its parent company, which has launched several efforts to boost its flagship brand with younger consumers, including an Instagram AR-heavy summer campaign and a new mobile loyalty rewards program.

Picture Source: CNN Business

Lay's will first launch its global redesign in the US and Canada before taking it to other countries. The new logo will be placed on 115 Lay's products across more than 25 flavor varieties.

Reference：

[1]"Why It Took Lay's 2 Years to Re-design a Bag of Potato Chip", 2019/09/18, Robert Klara

[2]"Lay's goes 'Insta-worthy' in packaging refresh to attract younger consumers", 2019/09/19, Barry Levine  

[3]"Lay's potato chip bag is getting its first new look in 12 years", 2019/09/18, Millie Dent

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