Lay’s Unveils Major Rebrand — Chips Are ‘Made With Real Potatoes’

Lay’s, one of America’s most recognizable snack brands, has revealed its biggest rebrand in nearly 100 years, marking a new era for the PepsiCo-owned icon.

The overhaul includes redesigned packaging, new formulations for fan-favorite varieties, and a renewed focus on natural ingredients, all while reminding consumers that its chips are, indeed, made with real potatoes.

A Fresh Look for a Classic Snack

The new packaging replaces the old, glossy designs with warmer tones and a softer palette. The brand’s iconic yellow bag now features a refined sun emblem, affectionately called Lay’s Rays, symbolizing warmth, heritage, and freshness. According to PepsiCo’s newsroom, the redesign honors the “journey from farm to bag,” connecting the product’s look with its agricultural roots.

Reimagining What’s Inside

Beyond the visual changes, the rebrand represents a major ingredient overhaul. Lay’s announced plans to remove all artificial colors and flavors from its core chips by the end of 2025. This includes Lay’s Baked and Lay’s Kettle Cooked lines, which are getting healthier updates. The former now made with olive oil and 50% less fat, and the latter using avocado oil for a lighter, crispier texture.

A Response to Consumer Demand

Denise Truelove, SVP of Marketing for PepsiCo Foods US, said the rebrand was “shaped directly with our consumers, offering more choice, more transparency, and more joy with every bite.” The move reflects a growing industry shift toward clean-label snacking, as more customers seek products with simple ingredients and visible sourcing.

Why Now?

Lay’s rebrand aligns with PepsiCo’s broader sustainability and health-focused initiatives. Through its From Potato to Chip campaign, the company aims to highlight its farming partnerships and environmentally responsible production.

As PepsiCo explains, the new marketing approach underscores transparency, from soil to store shelves, as the company refines its image amid changing consumer expectations.

The Packaging Story

The updated design uses colors inspired by real ingredients, such as pickle green, hickory brown, and savory red, paired with high-resolution chip photography to showcase texture and flavor.

The phrase “Made With Real Potatoes” now appears prominently on every bag, following a surprising insight: nearly 42% of Lay’s consumers didn’t realize the chips are made from real, farm-grown potatoes.

Reinforcing Legacy Through Design

Carl Gerhards, PepsiCo’s Senior Director of Global Design for Lay’s, described the rebrand as “a love letter to our origins.” He explained that the new design system allows Lay’s to celebrate its diverse lineup of flavors across countries while maintaining a unified global identity. The message is clear: heritage still matters — it just needed a modern frame.

Setting the Gold Standard in Snacking

For PepsiCo, this rebrand signals a strategy to solidify Lay’s position as the gold standard of snacking. With fresher ingredients, modern aesthetics, and a consumer-first narrative, the brand hopes to strengthen its dominance in a crowded, health-conscious market, one where transparency and trust are just as important as taste.

What’s Next for Lay’s

The rebrand rollout will continue through late 2025, with the updated products gradually hitting U.S. shelves before expanding globally. New ad campaigns will spotlight farmers, ingredient stories, and the “real potatoes” message, a clear sign that Lay’s next century will be rooted in both tradition and transformation.

A New Era of Crunch

Lay’s latest chapter feels less like a reinvention and more like a return to roots. By pairing cleaner recipes with a design that celebrates simplicity, the brand is reconnecting with what made it a household staple in the first place: real potatoes, real flavor, and a familiar crunch that generations recognize. A reminder that even in an age of plant-based snacks and high-tech ingredients, sometimes the most enduring appeal is found in keeping things real.