Every Lay’s® chip has a backstory. It starts with a potato.

How are Lay’s^® potato chips made? Every bag starts with real potatoes, cultivated with care by farmers who understand the land and the harvest. From there, potatoes are sourced, moved, cleaned, sliced, cooked, seasoned and packaged into the Lay's chips consumers know and love by a global network of growers, supply chain experts, production teams, flavor developers and brand teams.

For nearly a century, Lay’s has been a part of moments of joy for people around the world. Today, Lay’s is sold in more than 200 countries and territories. Before Lay’s became one of the world’s most recognizable snack brands, it started with Herman W. Lay selling chips from the trunk of his car in 1938. And even now, the heart of the story begins long before the bag — in a field.

How Lay’s sources real potatoes

For Lay’s, quality starts with knowing where each potato comes from. PepsiCo teams work across more than 50 growers and suppliers and more than 160 farm locations across the U.S. and Canada — many of them multi-generational farms that have partnered with the company for decades.

“Everything’s direct grower,” said Fabrizzio Cantagallo, director of procurement for PepsiCo Foods North America. “We know where each potato comes from. We know the farm, we know the field.”

When you’re moving roughly 4 billion pounds of potatoes each year, knowing the growers and the fields matters. Teams help move potatoes through the network while balancing growing seasons, regional supply, what consumers are buying and quality requirements. Weather, timing and supply chain conditions are always changing, which means the work is a constant puzzle — one focused on delivering potatoes that meet the right standards for size, color and consistency.

Once potatoes are sourced, logistics teams move them to production sites as efficiently as possible, using trucks or refrigerated train cars depending on the season and route. During peak harvest periods, some potatoes go directly from the field to production facilities, while others are stored by farmers in specially designed barns until they are needed.

At the production site, the process moves quickly. Potatoes are cleaned, sliced, cooked, seasoned and packaged — often within 48 to 72 hours of arriving. Quality checks happen throughout the process, helping ensure every bag of Lay’s potato chips meets the standards consumers expect.

How Lay’s creates potato chip flavors

Once the chip is right, flavor teams build on that base. Lay’s begins with a plain potato chip, then draws inspiration from food culture, familiar favorites and regional tastes around the world.

“Lay’s are probably the perfect base for flavor development because it’s a beautiful palette,” said Ann Robarge, senior principal scientist, who has spent her career in R&D product development.

The process blends creativity with a close understanding of what people love to eat. Teams test and refine flavor ideas, then rely on consumer feedback to understand what resonates. Around the world, that work helps Lay’s show up in ways that feel both familiar and locally relevant — whether through a classic flavor people already love or a new taste inspired by how people eat and share food in different parts of the world.

How Lay’s stays familiar around the world

The same care that goes into the chip also shapes how Lay’s shows up around the world. From packaging to retail displays to food experiences, teams work to make the brand feel recognizable, warm and connected to its roots.

“The new visual identity celebrates the humble, farm-grown potato — where every Lay’s potato chip starts — and highlights the tastes and flavor cues consumers love,” said Alexis Porter, vice president of marketing, Global Lay’s.

The refreshed Lay’s logo shines brighter, inspired by the sun that nurtures the potatoes, and is wrapped in the signature red ribbon — a mark of quality and care. Surrounding it are Lay’s rays, a dynamic design element that brings warmth and energy across packaging, retail and beyond.

As the Lay’s brand evolves, the goal is to stay familiar while finding new ways to connect with consumers and feel recognizable in every market, while still leaving room for local flavors, formats and food moments.

That balance becomes even more important when a brand is part of so many everyday moments around the world. As Denise Truelove, senior vice president of marketing, explained, those decisions are shaped by what consumers already expect from the brand: “Delighting our consumers goes beyond bold flavors — it’s about delivering trusted quality starting from the farm to the chips in the bag.”

How Lay’s shows up in food experiences

Lay’s also continues to show up in new kinds of food experiences. In Shanghai, for example, a Lay’s potato-themed restaurant brings the brand to life through a full culinary experience, transforming familiar ingredients into dishes and moments designed to be shared.

“We’re connecting our brands to the food experiences consumers are increasingly seeking — creating new ways to enjoy Lay’s beyond traditional snacking and helping unlock new occasions in the away-from-home channel,” said Nina Mu, chief marketing officer, Greater China Foods.

The people and care behind every bag of Lay’s

For Cantagallo, what stands out most about Lay’s is not just the potato itself — it’s the care behind it. “One thing you see across this work is the passion people bring to it — whether it’s our teams or our partners,” he said. “That’s really what drives everything we do.”

Every bag of Lay’s potato chips is the result of thousands of decisions made by thousands of people — all helping turn real potatoes into flavors, food moments and one of the world’s most recognizable snacks.