Frito Lay’s Baken-ets

Frito Lay Launch of Baken-ets

As the snack category continues to grow exponentially as a part of everyday food consumption, a product category has exploded overnight. That category is pork rinds for they are considered a convenient, on-the-go paleo snacking option. Frito Lay has been a leader in new product innovation for the snacking industry and always need exciting, enticing ways to direct consumers to their products without alienating any of their other core products. Baken-ets is a uniquely seasoned flavored snack that not only captures the paleo follower but also the bacon lover which has been on trend for several years now. Baken-ets needed something to stand out amongst the crowd that could immediately be identified to the consumer. This pork rinds center struck the right chord enticing the consumer to try this new snacking sensation.

As the world leading snack company, many of their suppliers ideate around new product launches and merchandising solutions. This clever attention getting outline of the pig immediately sent the message to the consumer that pork rinds should be purchased here. The snack category of any convenient or grocery store is extremely crowded with many snacking options from which to choose. As pork rinds have been accepted as a protein snack on the go, Baken-ets, launched a line of pork rinds, separate from other snack merchandising options. This display served as the one and only vehicle brought to market to merchandise this product for incremental sales. These initial incremental placements and sales were the foundation for this product to achieve permanent status in the ultra-competitive snacking aisle. Fabricated from perforated metal and wire, this silhouetted display with its slim lines and open shelves, made the consumer feel confident in their snacking purchase.

As the only sales vehicle for in-store placement over 600 units were produced in 2020-2021 for the successful launch of Baken-ets. Pork rinds/skins as a category has been around forever, however, mostly regionally produced and consumed with the strong distribution network of Frito Lay and it’s DSD system they were able to distribute throughout the entire country and make an immediate impression in that category. Market research indicated to them the best areas to launch Baken-ets and they achieve a 100% placement and a 200% lift in sales in the category for Frito Lay is the leader in salty snacks and comfort foods. With the 200% lift, Frito Lay will continue to support the existing markets and new markets as they open.