PepsiCo's Lay’s takes centrestage at Coachella with ultra-chic immersive tasting experience

By Gill Hyslop

- Last updated on GMT

The Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival is taking place in the Colorado Desert later this month. Pic: Lay's
The Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival is taking place in the Colorado Desert later this month. Pic: Lay's

Related tags Lay's potato chips PepsiCo Frito-Lay Coachella festival Harry Styles Billie Eilish Kanye West experiential marketing sustainable farming practices

Lay's is heading into the desert to transform Coachella into a festival of flavour, giving festivalgoers the exclusive opportunity to taste Lay’s chips in their freshest form, served within 24 hours of being made.

The chips will be made from more than 500 pounds of Lay’s proprietary potatoes, 100% sustainably sourced from Lay's network of West Coast partner farms as part of Frito-Lay's commitment to enhance sustainable farming.

And they’ll only be available at Lay’s Fresh 4D, Lay’s larger-than-life installations known as ‘Potadomes’ set up in the Coachella campgrounds, where fans can partake in a reservation-only, seated tasting experience. The music-inspired four-course tasting menu will be enhanced by scent, sound and sight and will be hosted on 15-17 April and again on 22-24 April.

The swanky four-course experience includes:

  • Pop: Patata Brava Crunch, Spicy Tomato Sauce, Sweet Potato Powder
  • Electronic: Electric Green Pesto and Potato Chip Gnocchi Foam, Basil Powder Rim
  • Hip-Hop: Gold Brushed Potato Chip, Creamy Fontina D(r)ip, Black Truffle
  • Take-Away Dessert: Chocolate Dipped Lay’s Potato Chip
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Lay's Fresh Coachella campground

Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival

The festival has been held annually since 1999 in the Colorado Desert, hosted by Goldenvoice, a subsidiary of AEG Presents. This year’s event begins on Friday, 15 April, and lasts until Sunday, 24 April, headlining multiple award winning sensation Billie Eilish, flamboyant actor and singing super star Harry Styles and American rapper, record producer and fashion designer Ye (aka Kanye West).

The definitive selfie

The domes will also house bespoke Speakeasy Spuds, where festivalgoers can capture the ultimate selfie.

Lay's Crunch Studios: a pod that allows fans to assume the role of DJ, transforming the crunch of Lay's chips into a hip-hop beat pumped out of golden speakers.

Lay's Golden Glow: a space where Lay's ‘energy’ comes to life with dynamic lighting synced to electronic music.

Lay's Flavour Pop: a chamber that pairs Pop with the brand’s bold flavours.

“For more than 75 years, Lay's has been delivering smiles and joy to our fans through unique innovations that explore different flavours and textures,”​ said Melissa Miranda, senior director of marketing, Frito-Lay North America.

“Now, we're excited to be the first food brand to ever have an experiential presence at Coachella, bringing our fans a unique experience showcasing the freshest Lay's chips we've ever created.

“While our fans know us for our flavour, we're tapping into a multi-sensorial experience they won't forget.”

Feed your creativity

Being the hottest ticket in town, not all fans will be able to grab a coveted spot at the Fresh 4D Potadome. But Lay’s has factored this in and is hosting the Lay's Lounge – an interactive, walk-up sampling room in the General Admission area. Here, fans can taste three elevated bites that are an ode to Lay’s iconic flavours.

The Lounge will also feature three interactive spots that tell the Lay’s story orchestrated to music.

Stay Rooted: LED tree roots and Electronic reminds fans to nourish the memories that make them who they are.

Stay Hungry: The Hip-Hop spirit reminds fans to stay curious and keep exploring.

Stay Flavourful: The feel-good essence of Pop prompts festivalgoers to savour the Coachella experience.

Compostable bags

Several of Lay’s bestsellers – including Lay’s Classic, Lay’s BBQ, Lay’s Limon, Doritos Nacho Cheese and Cheetos Flamin’ Hot – will make their debut in 100% commercially compostable packaging at the event.

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Lay's compostable bags

The bags are made from 85% renewable plant materials. The production of the material produces approximately 60% lower greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions than traditional snack bags, aligned with Frito-Lay’s PepsiCo Positive (pep+) journey​ to build a sustainable food system

The Coachella campground will be dotted with clearly market compost bins for consumers to properly dispose of the bags.

“Coachella is an event that not only has major cultural reach and impact, but is also championing sustainability to a large audience, which is the reason why we decided to showcase our chips in a commercially compostable bag,”​ said David Allen, VP of sustainability, PepsiCo Foods North America.

“We are working toward PepsiCo's goal of designing 100% of our packaging to be recyclable, compostable, biodegradable or reusable by 2025. This new commercially compostable bag is one more step along the journey.”

Win tickets to Coachella

Reservations for the ultra-limited Lay’s Fresh 4D experience open on 6 April – so don’t delay. Fans also have the chance to win free tickets to Coachella on Lay's Instagram page.

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