Lay’s recently introduced its first heart shaped potato pellet under Lay’s Shapez a Lay’s sub-brand. In an exclusive chat, Saumya Rathor, category lead – potato chips, PepsiCo India, spoke with Storyboard18 about the new product, their innovation and launch strategy, and how she sees the chips market growing and consumption changing and much more.
Edited excerpts
Let’s speak about Lay’s Shapez under which you introduced heart shaped Lay’s, tell us more about it. We thought it was just an innovation around Valentine’s Day, but I believe you are taking it forward as well.
Rathor: I think this is an innovation that we are incredibly excited about. I feel that for a long time Lay’s has not really thought beyond the circle. This is our first foray into a different shape and that’s why we’ve launched Lay’s Shapez. And of course, I think one of the shapes that a lot of Indians really resonate with is the shape of the heart and our endeavour is to really push the envelope when it comes to disruption in the category.
And that’s why we thought, okay, let’s go beyond the typical shape that people think of when they think of Lay’s. And of course, I think the shape is one vector, but the other because it’s just equally important for us, all of us, is flavours in it. One, of course, is masala, which is the main table stake from an Indian palate perspective, and the other one is one of my favourites, it is an incremental flavour bucket, and it’s the first time that Lay’s in India has launched that flavour and it is caramel. So we’re really excited about adding ‘incrementality’ to the potato chips category.
And this time you really push the envelope because we have always known Lay’s to make savoury snacks. But this time around, as you said, you have introduced a sweet flavour to Lays. How has that been received?
Rathor: I think we have got a very positive and overwhelming response to the innovation. And so we’re keeping our fingers crossed and we really hope that Indians love it. But I do feel that Lay’s is the O.G. chip and we are the leaders of the category.
We pretty much created a culture of snacking in India, and I think as the category leaders, it’s really incumbent on us to continue to push the envelope and keep giving Indian consumers a lot of different flavours and get them to experiment with their palates and that is why we said we should have the ‘masala’ flavour but also add to it an exciting flavour which has never been done before.
We are hopeful that it takes off.
So under Shapez, you will also be introducing other different shaped chips as well, tell us more about it. What are the SKUs that we will see the Lay’s Shapez in?
Rathor: I think from a Shapez perspective, we have a lot of ideas in the upper stage and we are evaluating it. But in all honesty, I think it’s important for us to establish the first few Shapez well and then keep adding to the repertoire. So I would not be able to give away too much because that would be confidential. But we have a really exciting portfolio of Shapez, that is going to come up in the next few years in India.
The SKUs that we are looking at are typical ones. So we are looking at price points of Rs 5, Rs 10 and Rs 20. It is because in India as a market if you look at the snacking industry, it’s largely divided between these price points. So the SKUs that we have will be at three price points.
If you look at chips as a category, it is comfort food. If I like a flavour, I will probably stick with it for a very long time. But when you get these innovations and you know these new products and offerings, how do you get the customer to try them out? How do you get the customer to pick your bag or, you know, choose your pack and put it in the basket from let’s say quick commerce platforms or an e-commerce platform or even traditional retail?
Rathor: I think it’s a very thought provoking question because I think being in the retail industry for so long, we constantly take a lot of things for granted. But I do want to say that our biggest muscle or strength is our ‘go-to-market team. They help us ensure that we are doing sampling of a product, to ensure that, you know, the product is available at the right place at the right time.
And I think, you know, when you said that the category is of impulse category and as a brand that operates in that category, we need to be always everywhere, right? And I have to call out my entire ‘go-to-market’ team because they fundamentally help us show that in the best way. And all those right touchpoints and all those right price points.
We have a very strong network from a distribution perspective and that has happened over the years. We have built every year from strength to strength.
And, of course, I think when it comes to impulse products, uniqueness really helps. So I am a big believer in disrupting the market with never before offerings. And I feel that this was also the genesis of that. It is almost like no one till now would have thought that Lay’s would go beyond the shape that they’re familiar with or go beyond the flavours that they’re familiar with. I think in the food category, given the trend that we see from our industry perspective, experimentation is on the rise. So, if you give consumers a unique thing, and if you make it available at the right price point, at the right place, our trials automatically happen. So I think our endeavour is to ensure that we rely on a ‘go-to-market’ team and ensure that we all the time creating unique consumer propositions for our consumers.
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