“Instagram-worthy”: Lay’s debuts first packaging redesign in 12 years

20 Sep 2019 --- Lay’s, a PepsiCo brand, is debuting its first packaging redesign in 12 years, transforming shelves across 250,000 retailers with a full conversion of 115 packages in more than 25 flavor varieties. The brand’s new look will be supported with a website relaunch, new television and digital advertisements debuting mid-October and out-of-home billboard placements, among other promotional activities. The new Lay’s branding is a global initiative: China and the US are the first countries to rollout the new packaging and others are set to follow suit in the coming months and years.

The Lay’s redesign. Lay’s highlights the following elements of its new design: 

• Fresh food photography shot from an “Instagram-worthy” top-down angle that “brings the appetite appeal from inside the bag and puts it on the outside.”
• A smaller, sleeker logo that is strategically centralized to capture attention.
• “Radiating rings around the Lay’s logo.”
• Fewer words and more engaging imagery featured on the back of the packaging.

In August, the brand debuted limited-edition packaging, featuring 31 faces of “Everyday Smilers” who are making an impact in their local communities and beyond. This was part of the Lay’s “Smiles” campaign launched last year in conjunction with a US$1 million commitment to the non-profit Operation Smile, which benefits children born with a cleft lip or palate, as reported on PackagingInsights’ sister platform FoodIngredientsFirst.

 Lay’s billboard advertisements. The return of the “Smiles” packaging campaign this summer came after consumer feedback and social engagement surpassed expectations. “Last year, our fans shared an average of 700 selfies per day with the ‘Smiles’ bags, revealing a tremendous opportunity for our bags to transform into storytellers. They also inspired more smiles with the great work of Operation Smile and ordinary people doing extraordinary things in their communities,” says Sadira Furlow, Vice President of Marketing, Frito-Lay North America.

Fans of the Smile campaign were invited to learn more about its 31 Everyday Smilers through an augmented reality mobile experience powered by the Facebook Camera and triggered by scanning a unique QR code on the back of each Smiles bag.

Edited by Benjamin Ferrer