How Lay’s is making Gourmet an elevated experience for Indian consumers

Lay’s, the snacking brand from PepsiCo, has expanded its product portfolio with the launch of Lay’s Gourmet, a premium range of slow-cooked premium kettle chips.

Priced at Rs 30 (55g) and Rs 50 (80g), Lay’s Gourmet chips are available across leading retail stores and e-commerce platforms in three flavours – Lime & Cracked Pepper, Thai Sweet Chilli and Vintage Cheese & Paprika.

For this launch, Lay’s will be releasing a campaign film, which will be followed by a robust 360-degree surround.

Speaking about the potential for premium potato chips in the Indian market, Shailja Joshi, Marketing Director, Potato Chips Category, PepsiCo India, told Adgully, “We have clearly understood the market potential of whether the market is ready for it or not.” She further said that while PepsiCo has taken very intense learnings from what exists globally, each part of it has been tested with consumers in India, and has also been tweaked or completely recrafted, wherever needed. She added that with launching Lay’s Gourmet in India, there’s not necessarily “an Indian tadka” to it, rather how Lay’s makes this international product relevant and suited for the Indian consumers.

Joshi maintained, “The good thing is that with a brand like Lay's, we see consumers being very open to trying experimentation as they believe if Lay’s has launched something, it is worth giving a try.”

Stating that Lay’s has always been a young brand, Joshi added that anything that Lay’s defines or creates on the brand is keeping in mind those consumers. “We as a brand have added a psychographic that goes beyond age, some consumers travel and have a taste for the premium, similarly there are occasions where you want to have something premium like sitting with a small group of friends where you want to be a little more indulgent than a normal snacking occasion. So, that is the kind of occasion we want Gourmet to come in,” she further said.

On the premium peg, Joshi said, “As Indians shift to becoming ‘premium’ consumers, we have all the right science for it to succeed.” Here, she elaborated on the emphasis on packaging and said, “We take our packaging very seriously.” Not only does the packaging give the look and feel of premiumness, but it also helps preserve the crunch and brings all the flavours together.

Lay’s undertook a robust research prior to this launch, and as claimed by Joshi, “all our research has ratified that this products is a very strong winner in the market.” When asked to elaborate on the research, she explained, “When we do research, we do it in our key markets. Some centres are picked up with a particular consumer base, where we think the flavour will have more acceptance. We pick up certain consumers there, which our research team ratifies is enough of a sample size to give us an insight into how it will go about.” While Lay’s Gourmet has been launched pan-India, Joshi said that the prominent markets are North, West and South, in that order.

Elaborating further on the research, she said that it was carried out in phases. First phase of the campaign concerned about the flavours. Joshi shared that Lay’s started out with a much bigger pool of flavours. ‘It was about getting to the right product in terms of the crunchiness, the kind of mood, and the kinds of flavours.

In the second phase, consumers were asked whether the name ‘Lay’s Gourmet’ was relevant for Indians or not. “They might feel that it’s a great name, but we wanted to understand what it signifies. Does it hit the right food values and connote premium? Thus, even the brand name itself was ratified and checked though it pre-existed globally,” she added.

These apart, with a price point of Rs 30 and Rs 50, Lay’s sought to find out will the intention to purchase happen and whether the pricing was premium enough. “So, multiple rounds of research took place for the entire proposition concept and everything has been consumer-ratified. The results have been great for Lay’s Gourmet,” said Joshi.

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