In parallel, PepsiCo Foods US (PFUS) was embarking on a multi-year organizational transformation to transform from a “Snacks Company” to a “Food Company” focused on both snacks and meals. We quickly realized that our first step on this journey was to establish “Real Food” credentials for our existing brands, knowing the long lead time associated with breakthrough innovations or mergers and acquisitions (M&A). That’s why we set out to accelerate progress by capitalizing on the consumer trends mentioned above and marketing our existing snack portfolio in a completely new way; Rather than focusing solely on snack time, we encourage the use of our products as ingredients/enhancers in meal preparation.

Our goal was clear: to help reinvigorate Americans’ taste for food by growing the PFUS brand association with meals/recipes and rallying a community of interest around our brands.

Execution (creative excellence and execution)

It is estimated that each food event point we can secure for our Snacking Portfolio will equal hundreds of millions of dollars in additional revenue, making the size of the prize a significant commercial opportunity, but where to start?

While PFUS had already found success in the area of ​​recipe versatility by launching numerous high-profile brand-led campaigns, it lacked the continuity of availability needed to create a larger, sustainable impact on consumers over time. That’s why we assembled an internal team of Social Media, Digital Marketing, Culinary, Creative and Paid Media experts to create a baseline for what’s possible and design a new consumer-facing portfolio CRM program as a proof of concept to help us recover. Internal support/resources needed for aggressive scale-up.

In addition to the internal hurdles of figuring out how to best design this first-of-its-kind program for PepsiCo—ensuring it would add to existing efforts rather than duplicate and waste it—the team also had to deal with a relatively tight launch. Budget for US Market (< $500K). One thing was for sure, to make this gamble a success we had to be super strategic, deliberate and creative to “break the mold” of the typical CPG Recipe Versatility program and stand out in a crowded field. Fortunately, competitive CRM programs in the US have long become stale and languish in a “sea of ​​sameness.” This has resulted in a decline in interest among younger consumers, especially Gen Z and Millennials, and created the perfect opportunity for us to do something fresh, new, BIG and BOLD!

Enter FLVR! Designed and produced internally, this evergreen food entertainment marketing program offers consumers trending recipes from the creators they love. The brand identity is rooted in Generation Z culture; To adapt to their dynamic nature, they adopt a simple, minimalist design with bold and vibrant colors that reflect energy, excitement and positivity. The modern and legible font is in line with Generation Z’s preference for contemporary design, and the color palette symbolizes the kaleidoscope of values ​​they hold dear, such as diversity, inclusivity and innovation.

In terms of content strategy, FLVR leverages the power of Lo-Fi video to connect authentically with their audience. It has tapped into consumer trends toward at-home meal prep (spurred by the Pandemic), so-called “chaos cooking” (embracing recipe/ingredient fusion in the kitchen), and TikTok food trends (Cheetos Flamin’ Hot baked feta macaroni for everyone). ?).

From a channel strategy perspective, FLVR was developed primarily on social, leveraging the power of TikTok creators to fuel an ongoing content series designed to showcase their food in their own way. @FLVR_US has reached more than 1 million followers in less than 6 months, becoming the most followed PepsiCo brand on TikTok worldwide. In addition to its strong and rapidly growing social presence on Instagram, YouTube and Pinterest, the program also includes an all-new, mobile-responsive and personalized website/email program with on-trend recipe content.

Results (results and effectiveness)

FLVR brought tremendous success to PepsiCo Foods:

Portfolio Transformation: Changing the Consumer Paradigm

• +3.2% increase in consumers associating brands like DORITOS with recipes and meals

Creating Awareness: Clearing the Clutter

• With the participation of 106 creators, +75 million impressions were achieved and +61 million consumers were reached

• +6.5 million “likes”, +500 thousand “shares” and +25 thousand “comments” generated by the #ChaosCooking hashtag became mainstream and +2 million mentions were achieved on TikTok

Owned Media + 1st Party Data Collection

• The #1 most followed PepsiCo “brand” on TikTok worldwide with +1.5 million followers (more than All Recipes and Epicuious combined!)

• +560% increase in followers on Instagram and +1,000% increase in subscribers on YouTube

Commercial Impact

• Frito-Lay North America operating profit up 10% in Fiscal Year 2023

• Amazon FireTV pilot generated a ROAS 50x Amazon CPG benchmark with 47% of sales being “New to Brand”

FLVR has laid the foundation for success beyond the snack aisle by embracing change and meeting evolving consumer needs.

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