Frito-Lay Goes All Out With 'All-Natural' Ingredients

Plano, Texas — PepsiCo's Frito-Lay is supporting a shift to natural ingredients in its Lay's, Tostitos and Sun Chips snack products with a marketing campaign that includes national advertising, digital promotions and in-store activity.Frito-Lay started getting the word out with TV ads during the Fiesta Bowl college football game on New Year's Day. The manufacturer then layered on national print ads, a Facebook page, redesigned packaging and in-store materials. Frito-Lay, which says that this is the biggest integrated marketing campaign in its history, says that about half of its products are now made with "all-natural" ingredients.The initiative started with the insight that consumers want natural ingredients in their snack products, bolstered by research from Mintel International Group, Chicago. Among the findings:Sales of natural/organic savory snacks in supermarkets increased 21% from 2007 to 2009.39% of those surveyed said they now buy all-natural salty snacks.65% of respondents said they are "somewhat interested" or "very interested" in natural products.Frito-Lay describes "all-natural" as not having any artificial or synthetic ingredients, flavors or preservatives, including monosodium glutamate."We tested our new packaging design with shoppers in order to make sure that it was communicating 'all-natural' without creating visibility and find-ability issues on shelf," says Aurora Gonzalez, Frito-Lay spokesperson. "Results from this study convinced us that we were on the right track with the new packaging."The company also did qualitative testing with shoppers to gauge reaction to the campaign at an early, conceptual stage. "We found that our consumers were resonating with the ingredients story," says Gonzalez, "showing what goes into the product was much more compelling than simply making a product claim."Print ads and in-store media feature QR codes, and packaging shows graphics on the back that refer shoppers to Frito-Lay's Facebook page. "Most of our advertisements — and for the first time ever, our packaging — will list the Facebook address," says Gonzalez. "Our print advertising will also utilize QR codes to unlock additional customized content for consumers, including recipes and culinary webisodes." The webisodes feature chefs in Frito-Lay's Flavor Kitchen (its culinary center) demonstrating different ways to use the snacks. Facebook.com/fritolay features the Flavor Kitchen webisodes, recipes and information on the natural ingredients.In-store materials are focused on the supermarket and mass merchandise channels, including: endcaps, permanent and corrugate perimeter displays, corrugate lobby displays, signs, floor displays and shelf blades. "There was also a focus in-aisle by grouping the all-natural brands — Lays potato chips, Tostitos tortilla chips, and Sun Chips multigrain snacks — in one section to make it more visible and easier to shop," Gonzalez says. The Marketing Arm, Dallas, was responsible for producing the in-store materials.

Frito-Lay Goes All Out With 'All-Natural' Ingredients

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