PepsiCo is making a point of it on India’s snack aisles with a stamp of approval right on the pack. The company touts this as a way to be more open about what goes into their products, while leaving the recipe, the quality and the flavour where they are, in response to a demand for cleaner labels that isn’t going away.
Why the label is being updated
PepsiCo will tell you it’s a no-brainer for the customer. When you’re standing there making a choice, you want to see what you’re getting in plain terms. The new look is meant to put that front and centre on the pack.
Then again, the company has been making its food lines without artificial colours and flavours for some time. They like to think of it as a science-driven process when it comes to how a product is put together, not some after-the-fact fix to ride a wave.
What you will see on the shelf
It comes down to visibility. With the reworked packs, PepsiCo says the message is hard to overlook.
Here is what the company is highlighting:
– A prominent ‘No Artificial Flavours or Colours’
– Recipes, taste and quality left as is
– A portfolio-wide application
– Right there at the point of sale
In a way, it’s an attempt to let the ingredients do the talking. If the product is the same, a little clarity at the shelf can go a long way in turning a look into a purchase.
Where the competition stands
This is not just for show. As the rest of the industry gets more open about what’s on a label, PepsiCo is trying to be the one to set the standard. Being explicit about the claim is how they hope to close any gap between what people think and what is actually in the bag.
When you are comparing brands, you don’t have long to decide. A straightforward promise can be the tie-breaker. It is a sign from the company that you don’t have to choose between good taste and knowing what you are eating.
Putting it in words
“We are putting our consumer focus into action by making things easy to read and understand,” says Saakshi Verma Menon, CMO for PepsiCo India. “It is a move to show, not just tell, the transparency that underpins the trust in our brands.”
On the money and what’s next
The new look is coming at the same time as some serious financial backing. Just this month, PepsiCo put out word of an investment of as much as Rs 5,700 crore in India before 2030, calling it one of the top 13 markets in the world.
Most of that is to put in the ground for more manufacturing of their food business. Put that alongside the on-pack changes and you have a two-pronged approach to win over a crowded salty snack sector.
With the rollout across the board, the claim is not going to be missed. By not fiddling with the formula but making a virtue of what is already there, the idea is to take the guesswork out of it for the buyer.
Now it is a matter of execution. Should the message land, you could see a bump in numbers for the big three. And with clarity becoming the norm, other players might find they have to keep up or lose some of the high ground.
