Baked Lay's gets a Makeover

It's hard to believe that Baked! Lay's almost never made it to store shelves, because today, 15 years after its launch, it's a favorite among health-conscious snackers and a more than half-billion dollar brand for Frito-Lay.  And, we've started another chapter in the snack’s success story, thanks to a flavor breakthrough, a packaging graphics makeover and a new marketing campaign.

In the mid-1990s, when Frito-Lay was developing Baked! Lay's, a group of people in the company opposed launching it.  They argued that Baked! Lay's would fail because the low-fat snack did not taste as good as Lay's original, and thought it would not be profitable.  However, our marketing team banded together to show that passionate consumers wanted a low-fat, great-tasting snack option, and our Research and Development team figured out how to improve the cooking process to help ensure profitability.

Like many of you, I’m glad that Baked! Lay's was launched. Fifteen years later, it’s not only a thriving business, it’s also a great case study in how challenging innovation can be, especially for healthier snacks. I must begrudgingly admit that healthy debate within the company over its launch resulted in a better business proposition and product.

And now, Baked! Lay's begins a new growth spurt with the launch of a new flavor, Baked! Lay’s Southwestern Ranch.  The seasoning is unique, thanks to a new flavoring process, in which real herbs and spices are baked into the base chip –- instead of the seasoning being applied after the chips are baked.  The result is a great-tasting chip containing only 3 grams of fat per serving.   

The launch of Baked! Lay's Southwestern Ranch coincides with the makeover of the Baked! line’s packaging. I headed up Packaging for Frito-Lay at the time, and worked with the brand team on the packaging graphics makeover -- so any favorable comments would be greatly appreciated.   We redesigned the packages to improve their appeal to consumers looking for healthier products and to increase the snack’s visibility on store shelves.  

To spread the word out about Southwestern Ranch and the other Baked! snacks, our Marketing team has created a campaign aimed at women, including Webisodes featuring a group of animated female friends in humorous moments. "We're using the Internet to entertain women in ways that allow them to experience ‘that's me’ moments – in which we can laugh at our idiosyncrasies around food, diet, beauty and fashion," explains Julie Saliba, a manager on the marketing team that oversees Baked! Lay’s.

Last week in Los Angeles we kicked-off our new Web Site,  Only in a Woman's World, with a group of women bloggers. "Increasingly women are using the web to gather information, connect with each other and shop.  And they look to other women bloggers for help," Julie told me.

The women who attended the L.A. kick-off event have been blogging about the experience and generating great buzz for the program.  Check out Andrea at Mommysnacks, Lori at Acowboyswife, and the MacChronicles site, which posted fun pictures from the premiere.

Having been a part of Baked! Lay's birth, it's been fun to watch it grow and develop, and I can't wait to see what happens with the flavor innovation, packaging updates and unique marketing campaign.  Tell me what you think of the Baked! Lay's makeover.

Comments

[Nell]

I understand that this comment won't be reaching the blog. However, PLEASE pass along to whomever works in the advertising department.

I am a woman who blogs. I know very many women who blog. Every woman I know, blogger or no, is offended or annoyed by this ad campaign. It panders to women with overwrought, insulting, cliched stereotypes and by doing so, actually drives intelligent women to avoid your products because they view your companies to be misogynistic. Obviously your firm was trying to capture the unique appeal of Sex and the City, but for some reason decided to marry it to Cathy and condense it down to two minutes. The combination prompts me to change the channel every time the ad comes on the television; which this evening was on so frequently that it actually prompted me to come file a complaint. I'm well aware that a very large sum of money was invested in this campaign, but please, consider discontinuing it. I personally am a consumer of regular, not baked Frito Lay products, and Smartfood as well; however while these ads are on the air I will be buying other brands.

[Kristin H]

Re: Nell; thanks for sharing your thoughts on this campaign, which is really intended to celebrate women and support and acknowledge their feelings on a wide range of topics. The advertising for "Only in a Woman's World" will touch on a lot of different issues women deal with, including dieting - reflected in the first webisodes.

We talked to a lot of women and found that they spend a decent amount of time reading, talking and thinking about dieting and weight. So, we wanted to acknowledge that this is a significant topic for women and that they are not alone in their concerns - and that it's okay to sometimes laugh at these situations and at ourselves.

Again, we appreciate the constructive spirit of your comments and will share them with the appropriate teams at Frito-Lay.

[Patsy J]

I am a long time consumer of Light Lays Chips. I love the Baked Cheetos! They're my favorite. I will definitely try the Baked Southwestern Ranch Chips. But I do have a question. Why can I no longer find the Light Tostitos, formerly called WOW Tostitos? I miss them terribly. Any hope in their return?

[Lauren]

I agree with Nell. This advertisement is horrible. Please stop airing it.

[Kayla]

Honestly, I thought the makeover was awful when I saw the sticker on my package of Baked Cheetos. This packaging will go the way of Tropicana's, but probably faster.

Here is my feedback (and I am a consumer who only eats Baked Lays products -- my fave is the Cheetos).

1) The white package with bland looking colors makes me feel there is LESS flavor in the similarly bland contents, not more. Why not go a little farther and just print it in grayscale? It comes across the same to me.
2) It looks totally cheap and generic.
3) I agree with the concept of making the baked line easier to identify, if that was one of your objectives. I have spent way too long scanning across the displays trying to find the baked chips, which are in a different relative place at each store, it seems. But this is way too extreme...
4) We can no longer get away with sneaking baked instead of fried chips into the house for the kids. ;-)

I seriously think this is a huge marketing mistake, and I hope Frito Lay doesn't pass the retrofitting cost to return to the old packaging on to the consumer.

[JZ]

A multi-pack of the Baked! LAY'S variety would be nice...

The existing Smart Pack doesn't include any of the Baked Lay's flavors (original, barbeque, sour cream & onion, cheddar & sour cream or southwestern ranch), it only includes Baked Ruffles, Baked Cheetos, pretzels, and Baked Doritos.

Make a pack with just the Baked Lay's flavors!

[Alison]

I felt compelled to write to you both as a loyal Baked Lays consumer and a fellow CPG brand marketer who has worked on several major packaging redesigns. Unfortunately, I have to whole-heartedly agree with Nell's and Kayla's comments regarding the packaging relaunch and new communications campaign. I think the design team executed a "revolution" when the brand really needed an "evolution". While the team was looking to enhance shelf visibility, I'm concerned that the new design is actually going to disappear on shelves and hinder findability. I'm also concerned that the tone of the webisodes is going to alienate your target. I've learned that there is a distinction between what women actually do (i.e., read, talk and think about dieting and weight) and what they find acceptable for a brand to acknowledge that they do. Despite how tight your budgets must be these days and how much fanfare you've put behind the relaunch, I implore you to go back and quantitatively test the new packaging versus the old design on shelf visibility/findability and consider putting your media on hold until you feel confident that the spots and print ads aren't causing negative amplification among your target.

[Becky Frankiewicz, Frito-Lay Marketing VP]

Re: Alison; Thank you for your comment. I appreciate you taking the time to respond. A bit of background on Baked! - We knew from consumers that they literally didn't see the Baked brand prior to repackaging amidst the other bags of chips. Our intention was to ensure that the Baked business didn't get lost in the aisle. So we updated our packaging and created a "place" for it among other brands with a similar target (a lead section of the aisle).

Additionally, we did extensive quantitative testing on the design with a leading packaging testing firm, before we launched. (http://www.prsresearch.com/). What we discovered is that with target consumers the new packaging better communicated the great taste cues of Baked! while maintaining the Health and Wellness benefits.

We are grateful for your loyalty and your interest in Baked! I'd love you to try the new Baked! Lays Southwestern Ranch product. It's new in the market and has baked in chipotle & black pepper for additional taste while maintaining the nutritionals. Thanks again for your comment. - Becky

[Tiffany]

I love the new packaging and I think the webisodes are fabulous and funny! I only have one question...why did you get rid of the flat earth fruit chips? They were my favorite!!

[yvette sanpaka]

I don't care how they're packaged. Although the yellow bag was easy for me to find them. I love Baked Lays and have been eating them since they came out 15 years ago. You could package them in a paper sack and I'd still buy them because of the flavor.

[Julie]

I have been looking for the Flat Earth Fruit Chips, the Berry flavored, specifically, and just thought the store near me wasn't carrying them. I was told they are no longer made. Those were the best and the only flavor of those chips that I liked. What happened?

[James]

I actually found the Dorito's packaging easier to differentiate from the regular (unbaked) bag. Actually, until this new package, I didn't even realize that dorito's came baked, so it's a success in my book!!

[cindy gallamore]

I am very upset that the Light Tostitos are gone. They are so much better than the baked scoops. I used them for low fat taco salads. I even took them in with me to mexican restaurants. Please bring them back!!