Lay’s says 42% of customers didn’t know their chips were made from actual potatoes

Following Lay’s drastic new rebranding, its parent company, PepsiCo, referenced a study that found nearly half its consumer base didn’t know the chips were actually made from potatoes.

Lay’s, the iconic American potato brand, underwent one of the biggest changes in its nearly 100-year history this October, ditching its classic yellow foil bags for a more “refined color palette” and updated logo, along with subtle packaging designs modeled after a potato crate.

They even switched up the way their chips are created, saying that products distributed within the US will no longer be made with artificial flavors or colors by the end of 2025.

This new focus on providing healthier snacking options for American consumers follows a customer survey that PepsiCo held in 2021, which uncovered some surprising findings about its consumer base.

Lay’s study shows fans forgot the snack’s main ingredient

As told in a press release on October 9, PepsiCo revealed that 42% of people who buy Lay’s potato chips “don’t realize they’re made with real, farm-grown potatoes.”

Fortune cited this finding as coming from a 2021 survey — and it seems it had a big impact on Lay’s new look. Now, their chip bags will feature images of real potatoes and other photographs of ingredients like limes, chili peppers, and onions.

“At Lay’s, delighting our consumers goes beyond bold flavors — it’s about delivering trusted quality from farm to bag,” PepsiCo Foods US’s SVP of Marketing, Denise Truelove, said.

“These updates were shaped directly with our consumers, offering more choice, more transparency, and more joy with every bite. Lay’s continues to set the gold standard in snacking and we’re proud to carry that legacy forward.”

That’s not all; some of Lay’s other products are also getting reformulated, such as their Baked chips, which will soon be made with olive oil and contain 50% less fat than other potato chips. Lay’s also announced that a new version of its Kettle Cooked Reduced Fat Original Sea Salt chips will be made with avocado oil.