How Lay’s Turned Snack Creativity Into Cultural Engagement with ‘Ways to Lay’s’

Lay’s, one of India’s most recognizable snack brands under PepsiCo, has long been woven into the country’s food culture. Beyond being a simple bag of chips, Lay’s has frequently shown up in local sandwiches, chutneys, and even fusion dishes in online food content—spontaneously and organically. Recognizing this unique cultural moment, the brand shifted from traditional advertising to co-creation with consumers, resulting in a campaign that reimagined the brand’s role in everyday eating and digital culture.

At its core, Lay’s recent campaign—titled ‘Ways to Lay’s’—was not born from a conventional marketing brief. Instead, it was inspired by how consumers were already incorporating Lay’s into their own culinary experiments. According to Amit Nanchahal, Head of Corporate Communications at PepsiCo India, this organic behaviour revealed a powerful insight: young Indians were using Lay’s not only as a snack but as an ingredient, a cultural symbol, and a platform for personal expression. This paved the way for a campaign designed to reflect and amplify that behaviour.

Understanding the Cultural Context

To build a campaign that resonated with its audience, Lay’s began by observing real consumer behaviour. A 2024 Kantar study showed that 78% of young Indians regularly experiment with food, whether by recreating popular street foods at home or fusing familiar dishes with new textures and flavours. For Gen Z and Millennials, food has become more than sustenance—it’s a form of identity and creativity. This blend of tradition and exploration is deeply rooted in India’s street food culture, where innovation, diversity, and hands-on engagement are part of the culinary experience itself.

Instead of resisting this trend, Lay’s chose to embrace it. The brand team, along with agency partner Edelman India, seized the opportunity to build on this cultural movement. Rather than dictating how Lay’s should be enjoyed, they created platforms where consumers could share how they were already using it—celebrating authenticity over instruction.

Crafting the Campaign Experience

The ‘Ways to Lay’s’ campaign was inherently experiential and collaborative. It featured several key elements designed to excite and engage younger audiences:

• Chef Collaborations: Lay’s partnered with more than 10 leading chefs and food influencers, including names such as Kunal Kapur, Vikas Khanna, Manish Mehrotra, Shivesh Bhatia, and Saloni Kukreja. These chefs were selected not just for their culinary expertise but for their alignment with regional flavours and experimental cuisine. Together, they developed hyper-local, visually engaging recipes that fused Lay’s chips with traditional favourites like dosas, chaats, and rolls. By rooting creative exploration in familiar local tastes, the campaign bridged the gap between street food culture and packaged snacking.

• Social Challenge: To drive widespread participation, Lay’s launched a social media challenge encouraging consumers to share videos and photos of their own Lay’s-inspired dishes. This social engagement became an organic storytelling engine, turning everyday users into brand advocates and content creators.

• Experiential Activation: The campaign moved offline with the introduction of India’s first ever Lay’s Food Truck, touring across Delhi and Mumbai. Celebrity chefs hosted live cooking demonstrations, creating real-world experiences that fans could enjoy firsthand. These activations generated strong footfall and extensive live and user-generated content, turning casual consumers into active participants in the brand’s narrative.
  

Impact and Results

The campaign delivered meaningful and measurable outcomes across multiple fronts:

• Increased Consumption: Lay’s saw nearly a 20% lift in meals consumed beyond traditional snacking, indicating the campaign’s success in reframing the brand as an ingredient rather than just a snack.

• Strong Social Engagement: Over 25,000 user-generated content posts were shared, and campaign hashtags generated over 5 million impressions—a testament to the creative enthusiasm of participants.

• PR and Media Visibility: The campaign was featured in more than 20 high-quality media stories, 40% of which highlighted its cultural relevance—an indicator of its broader resonance beyond paid promotions.

• Sales Lift: During the campaign period, Lay’s observed more than 10% increase in trial consumption, showing a direct link between engagement and purchase behaviour.
  

Target Audience Insights

Nanchahal points out that for Gen Z, food is closely tied to visual discovery and social sharing. This generation looks to online creators, street food trends, and peer experimentation for inspiration—making them highly receptive to campaigns that celebrate user creativity and content creation. Millennials, while also valuing creativity, gravitate toward authenticity and credible tastemakers. The mix of celebrity chefs and relatable DIY challenges helped the campaign appeal across both segments.

He also notes that modern consumers no longer differentiate sharply between paid, earned, or shared content. Instead, they experience campaigns as holistic journeys—a blend of digital content, live experiences, influencer participation, and social buzz. A successful strategy, therefore, integrates these elements to tell a cohesive and compelling brand story.

Lessons for FMCG Marketers

The ‘Ways to Lay’s’ campaign offers key insights for brands seeking deeper consumer engagement:

• Cultural embedding matters: Aligning marketing with real consumer behaviour and local trends catalyses participation and emotional connection.

• Co-creation beats broadcast: Inviting consumers into the creative process shifts the relationship from transactional to participatory.

• Integration is key: A mix of experiential marketing, social challenges, influencer collaboration, and PR amplification can drive measurable impact across brand metrics.
  

In a competitive landscape where consumers seek authenticity and creativity, Lay’s leveraged culture, community, and creativity to move beyond traditional advertising—turning everyday snacking into a vibrant cultural conversation.