Complete SWOT Analysis of Lay’s – A Very Popular Chips Brand All Over The Globe

(Product | Lay’s, Source: Lay’s)

Products of Lay’s

• Lay’s 
• Lay’s Dips
• Lay’s Kettle Cooked
• Lay’s Poppables 
• Lay’s Stax
• Lay’s Wavy

Current News About Lay’s

• Delhi High Court turns down PepsiCo’s appeal against revocation of potato patent. (08 July, 2023 at 03:02 PM IST)
• Are potato chip bags recyclable? Snack companies try new packaging. (27 March, 2023 at 11:02 PM IST)
• Watch: New Balenciaga bag looks exactly like a packet of Lays chips. (14 October, 2022 at 04:08 PM IST)
• Designer chip on the shoulder? Balenciaga’s new purse that looks like a Lays packet may be priced around Rs. 1.5 lakh. (10 October, 2022 at 01:31 PM IST)
• PepsiCo to invest Rs. 186 Crore on expansion of Mathura food manufacturing facility. (03 June 2022 at 04:06 PM IST)

Digital Marketing Strategies and Campaigns

Lay’s Marketing Strategy: What Made Lay’s Worldwide Fave Potato Chips Brand.

Lay’s has implemented several digital marketing strategies and campaigns to engage with its target audience and promote its products. Here are some notable examples:

1. Interactive Content Efforts: Lay’s has developed interactive content campaigns to engage consumers. This includes campaigns like “Do Us a Flavor,” where Lay’s crowdsourced new chip flavors through an online competition. Another example is Lay’s use of Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) in their marketing campaign, leveraging blockchain technology to create unique digital assets.
2. Social Media Marketing: Lay’s has a strong presence on social media platforms, utilizing channels like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram to connect with their audience. They share creative and engaging content, run contests and promotions, and leverage user-generated content to build brand loyalty.
3. Influencer Collaborations: Lay’s has partnered with popular social media influencers and celebrities to promote their products. They collaborate with influencers to create engaging and shareable content that reaches a wider audience and creates buzz around their brand.
4. Diverse Flavors and Limited Edition Releases: Lay’s continuously introduces new flavors and limited edition releases to create excitement and generate interest among consumers. These limited-time offerings often receive significant promotion on digital platforms to drive awareness and encourage trial.
5. Engaging Campaigns: Lay’s has run memorable and successful marketing campaigns, such as the iconic “Betcha Can’t Eat Just One” campaign, which emphasized the addictive quality of their potato chips. These campaigns aim to connect emotionally with consumers and create a memorable brand experience.

Buyer’s Persona

Competitors of Lay’s

1. Pringles: Pringles is an American potato chip brand possessed by Kellogg’s which is vented in over 140 countries.
2. Nestle: Nestle is the largest food company which has a wide range of product lines.
3. Kellogg’s: Kellogg’s is a transnational food products company grounded in the United States.
4. General Mills: General Mills is an American transnational company.
5. Cheetos: Cheetos is one of the popular brands dealing with Veg Snacks and ingrained Food products. Cheetos is one of the largest challengers of Lays.

Lays Target Audience

Client-Grounded Target Audience

Lays is a brand of potato chips of different flavors which is liked by all. It is the favorite of grown-ups, children, and old age. It has worldwide recognition and is preferred by all regardless of age or gender. It targets all individuals, groups, etc. It is one of the most favorite snacks of all time. No one can say no to Lays. Whether it is a party, get-together, movie night, match, etc. it’s the best fun and quick snack.

Now we have a better understanding of Lay’s, let’s look into the SWOT Analysis of Lay’s.

SWOT Analysis of Lay’s

SWOT stands for strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and strengths. So, a SWOT analysis is a technique to assess these four important aspects of the businesses. Companies can use SWOT analysis to make the most of what the businesses have got, to the organization’s best advantage. And you can reduce the chances of failure by understanding what the business is lacking, and eliminating hazards that would otherwise catch your unawareness. 

So let us go ahead and first have a glance at the strengths of Lay’s from the SWOT analysis of Lay’s

Strengths of Lay’s

• First Name Advantage: Lay’s was the first brand that started selling chips worldwide with a revenue of 1.3 billion USD. 
• Located in Remote Locations Too: Lay’s has also been located in remote locations which led to an increase in their brand awareness. 
• Strong Distribution Network: Lay’s has a huge distribution network with various flavors which also attract all types of target audiences. 
• Loyal Dealers & Customers: They also have a strong dealer network with loyal customers worldwide.
• Youngsters Being Their Strength: They target specifically youngsters and the middle class which helps them to grow their network. 
• Tie-up With Pepsi: Lay’s is owned by PepsiCo company which is a highly recognized company in the world that can target their own loyal Pepsi customers. 
• Market Share: Lay’s had a piece of the pie of 50.2% of the overall industry while in the US it was 29.6% of the potato chips market.
• A Mix of Traditional & Digital Marketing: Lay’s perfectly blended its traditional and digital marketing strategies relating to well-known slogans like Betcha can’t eat only one and be a little dialogical.  

(Lay’s Smiling Influencer Campaign on Instagram, Source: Campaign India)

Amazing Fact: Lay’s is the only chips brand with nearly a million followers on Instagram, leaving Pringle & Kurkure behind. Lay’s creative content strategy, high-quality ad design, and maintaining an online reputation with customer interaction led Lay’s to achieve enormous success on social media. Isn’t this amazing? 

If you also want to obtain expertise in certain skills of digital marketing such as content strategy, ad designing, online reputation management, and many more then IIDE offers several short-term courses in digital marketing for the same. Enroll in one or more of your favorite courses and start enjoying learning with a packet of Lays from the comfort of your home.

Weaknesses of Lay’s

• Health Concern Among People: As Lay’s is a high-calorie snack containing a high amount of fats, people are now more concerned with their health which reduces the product sales of Lay’s. 
• Uncertain Activities: Due to some doppelganger activity and memes affects the reputation of Lay’s. 
• Non-recyclable Packing: Lays packaging is non-recyclable which affects the reputation of the company. 

Opportunities for Lay’s

• Disposable Income: Due to the high amount of disposable income in emerging countries, the consumption of snacks also increases which leads to an increase in sales of Lay’s. 
• Increase in Tourism: After the release of the lockdown, there was an increase in tourism activity which led to tourists purchasing Lay’s for traveling, this enhanced the growth of the company.
• Focus on Youngsters: As Lay’s is one of the favorite snacks among kids and youngsters, Lay’s should start working to divert its marketing efforts towards this age group.
• Innovation in Flavours: Lay’s is famous among customers for its flavours and it should continue launching new flavors in the market to increase the craze of Lays among people.
• Rural Market: Lay’s are famous in the rural market and also it’s available in any region which leads to an increase in its customer base and revenue. 
• Occasions: In India, Lay’s are preferred more in festivals and parties. This is one of the opportunities for Lay’s to start pitching its products more during these occasions. Shifting its R&D and marketing efforts towards the opportunity. 

Threats to Lay’s

• Boycott: Lay’s are usually boycotted by health-conscious people which leads to lower demand for Lay’s. 
• Lower Margin due to Competition: With the growing scale of local distribution, there is a high amount of competition between the competitors which leads to a lower margin.
• Price Fluctuation of Raw Material: Lay’s raw material is potato and price fluctuation of this raw material might affect the cost of the final product.  
• Not Worth The Money: Lay’s been hated among people due to Lay’s providing less quantity in the exchange of money. The taste of Lay’s is an all-time classic but Lay’s has started compromising on providing quantity. 
• Negative Feedback from Sports Celebrities: Recently, Coca-Cola got a negative review from the famous football player Cristiano Ronaldo. Just like this if Lay’s gets some negative feedback from sports personalities because of its unhealthy factors then this might affect the brand value of Lay’s among the people.

Traditional Marketing Campaigns

1. “Betcha Can’t Eat Just One”: This slogan was first introduced in the 1960s and is still remembered today. The idea behind the campaign was to emphasize the addictive quality of Lays’ potato chips.
2. “Do Us a Flavor” Contest: Lays launched this campaign in 2012, inviting consumers to submit their ideas for new potato chip flavors. The winning flavors were then produced and sold in stores. This campaign not only generated a lot of buzz but also gave Lays new flavor ideas to add to their product line.
3. “Happiness is Simple”: This campaign was launched in 2014, with a focus on the simple pleasure of eating Lays potato chips. The ads featured people smiling and enjoying the chips, with the tagline “Happiness is simple. Just eat chips.”
4. “Passport to Flavor”: This campaign was launched in 2016 and featured new international-inspired flavors. The ads featured people traveling to different parts of the world to try the new flavors and were designed to appeal to consumers’ sense of adventure.
5. “Taste of America”: Launched in 2018, this campaign featured new flavors inspired by different regions of the United States. The ads showcased different cultural aspects of each region, tying in the flavors of the chips with the local culture.
6. “No One Can Eat Just One”: This was one of the earliest campaigns by Lays in India, launched in the early 2000s. The campaign highlighted the irresistible taste of Lays chips, emphasizing that once you start eating, you can’t stop at just one. The campaign became an instant hit, and the tagline “No One Can Eat Just One” became synonymous with Lays.

Better Campaigns

1. #SayYesToUnexpectedFlavors: Lay’s could launch a crusade featuring unique, uncommon flavor combinations that are unanticipated but unexpectedly succulent. Consumers could be invited to make suggestions.
2. Create-a-Flavor Contest: Organize a contest where guests can submit their own flavor ideas, and the winning flavor gets produced and vented for a limited time.