History & Marketing Strategies of Lays Brand

Brand Name: –  Lay’s
Owner: PepsiCo 

How It All Started 

Herman W. Lay started a small business at Nashville Tennessee in 1932, selling potato chips made by a company in Atlanta, Georgia. Herman acquired that company to form H. W. Lay & Company after Six years. In 1944, name of company was simplified to Lay’s and then it became the first snack food company to promote on television.

By 1997, Lay’s potato chips became a favourite choice for Canadians and are considered Canada’s favourite potato chip brand to this day. In keeping with Herman’s innovative spirit and dedication to quality, the Lay’s brand now offers consumers many different types of chips – including regular, wavy and kettle cooked potato chips – in over 22 flavours.

Launching

Lays is the product of Frito Lays which is a group of PepsiCo. Lay’s is the brand name for a number of potato chip varieties as well as the name of the company that founded the chip brand in 1932. Lay’s has been owned by PepsiCo since 1965.

Frito-Lay other brands includes Fritos, Doritos, Ruffles, Cheetos, Rold Gold pretzels, Munchos, Funyuns, and Sun Chips. Lay’s also known as Walkers in the United Kingdom and Ireland, Smith’s in Australia, Chipsy in Egypt, Poca in Vietnam, Tapuchips in Israel, Margarita in Colombia, Katkoot in Kuwait and Sabritas in Mexico, formerly known as Hostess in Canada until 1996, etc. Lay’s taste different in every country North America, Europe, Australia, Asia, Africa Flavors. 

Marketing strategy and Interesting Facts behind its Success.

  • Youth Brand:

Youth is the main target customer for Lay’s. The major base of its consumer are of age between 12-28. The youth brand ambassador advertising the brand carries the young imagery forward.

  • Certifications:

Lay’s is made with India’s best quality fresh potatoes, cooked in edible vegetable oils, and then seasoned with delicious flavours. Very high quality control and strict production processes followed to produce high quality chips. It holds International Quality control certifications like ISO 14000 HACCP (Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point) USA, Certification by TQCSI (Australia) American Institute of Baking(USA), OHSAS 18001(Occupational Health and Safety Assessment Series), USA Frito-Lay potato chips have been manufactured with zero trans-fats and no added MSG to take care of rising health concerns.

  • Pricing:

Lays have adopted several pricing strategies to satisfy its price-conscious customers. Company’s value-based prices are the reflection of its position as a brand with distinctive features like effortless accessibility, easy affordability, great taste and high quality. Lays is always different from its competitors and has planned competitive pricing to keep its product prices standard and retain customers. It also uses a promotional pricing plan at regular periods to increase its sales volume. The company offers several incentives like bulk deals, discounts and price packs. This helps in maximum sales in minimum time and garners extra profits.

  • Taste:

It introduced many different Western as well as Indian flavours to cater to urban as well as rural market segment like Classic Salted, American Style Cream & Onion, Chat Chaska, Magic Masala, Tangy Tomato, Astana Mango. To cater to health conscious market, Lay’s India launched new “Lay’s Baked” range with 50 percent less fat.

  • Promotion Strategy:

Lays are one on of the companies who realised the importance of advertising at its onset. In the year 1944, it appointed Bert Lahr as its celebrity spokesman in its television advertisement and became the first manufacturer of snack-food items to do so. Lay’s has always kept its product a celebrity kind of thing and has roped in various brand ambassadors. The involvement of celebrity has given a high boost to the product as the campaigns are so attractive and mouth-watering that people can’t resist buying the product, the product is on the top mind while buying chips.

Promotion also includes free samples for new flavours launched, displays before check-out line in the store, Eye-catching displays with special shelves for Lays chips at retail stores, lays fresh chips making machine at various organization canteens has made this brand reach its peak level. All its campaigns promote through all communication medium on TV, Radio, Print, Viral, Outdoor and Cinema.

  • Distributional channels

It has a vast distribution channel which functions over 50 distribution centers, distributing more than 3000 stockiest and reaching approximately 1 million retail stores that makes the product available on a large scale and is easily available. Currently they have expansion plans of existing distribution network to reach out to 3 tier towns and villages in India.

 

Lays Campaigns

Lay’s has been known for its captivating & innovative promotions and campaigns. The brand baseline “No one can eat just once” has been the biggest hit in the Indian market. They switched their campaign to “What’s the program?” which made Lay’s – the main food of every program!

Main campaigns include:-

“Fight for your Flavour” – It enabled consumers to vote for their choice of flavour to sustain. Consumer votes let the chosen flavour to continue in the market. Two brand ambassadors endorsed the campaign: Saif Ali Khan & M S Dhoni.

Lay’s Chip-n-Sauce pack – It was another headway innovation. The pack was especially designed keeping in mind cricket lovers. Lay’s Chip-n-Sauce was introduced in two flavours Chilli Chinese + Schezwan sauce sachet and Chatpata Indian + Tamarind sauce sachets.

Campaign Dillogical -The Dillogical concept made the consumer be dillogical. Lays introduced their new flavour Lime and Masala Masti along with it.

Conclusion

Lay’s products are made available to the general public through various, integrated marketing initiatives. Its value proposition of bold flavor and loud image, coupled with competitive prices, is the marketing drivers behind Lay’s. Lay’s offers consumers great tasting chips made from the freshest, best quality natural potatoes, made from best quality seasonings which contain zero MSG, and are cooked in rice bran oil. 

Lay’s boasts for its wide array of snack foods and dips that complement the needs and lifestyle of the target segments that demand for convenience and foods on the go. It is the chips brand which is on tip of consumers while purchasing snacks.

 

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