How PepsiCo plans to grow a 220-year-old nut brand

Key takeaways:

• PepsiCo sees growth, not nostalgia, in Duyvis, using premiumisation, protein and new consumption occasions to keep the 220-year-old Dutch nuts brand relevant.
• The company believes the biggest opportunities lie in expanding nuts beyond traditional evening snacking and capitalising on consumers’ growing appetite for protein-rich foods.
• Rather than reinventing Duyvis, PepsiCo is modernising how consumers experience the brand through flavour innovation, social-first marketing and experiential activations such as TAPT Festival.

Heritage is one of the food industry’s most valuable assets. It creates trust, recognition and a story that newer brands often spend years trying to build.

Yet heritage can also become a liability. Consumers may respect long-established brands, but that doesn’t mean they’ll continue buying them. Many fade as tastes change, retail evolves and shoppers gravitate towards products that feel more relevant to their lives.

That challenge sits at the heart of PepsiCo’s thinking around Duyvis, the Dutch nuts brand celebrating its 220th anniversary this year. While the milestone offers an opportunity to look back, the Netherlands-based PepsiCo-owned brand is far more focused on what comes next.

According to Jan van Twillert, marketing VP, PepsiCo Western Europe, the reason Duyvis has remained commercially competitive for more than two centuries has little to do with nostalgia.

“Duyvis’ ability to remain relevant over more than two centuries comes down to consistently balancing heritage with reinvention,” he says.

It’s a philosophy that increasingly underpins how PepsiCo thinks about growth in mature categories. At a time when brands are under pressure to respond to changing health priorities, premiumisation trends, new consumption occasions and shifting media habits, the global giant believes the challenge isn’t preserving heritage but continually finding new ways to make it matter.

Creating new opportunities

Despite its long history, PepsiCo isn’t managing Duyvis as a brand in maintenance mode. Instead, van Twillert identifies several opportunities that he believes can drive the next phase of growth.

One of them is premiumisation. “Continuing to premiumise the category through flavour innovation and more differentiated propositions,” he notes.

That approach reflects a broader shift taking place across food and beverage. As private label becomes increasingly sophisticated and consumers become more selective about where they spend their money, manufacturers are looking for ways to create value through differentiation rather than relying on price competition alone.

Van Twillert also points to category development as an important growth lever, highlighting the importance of working with retail partners to grow the nuts segment in both value and relevance.

Perhaps the most significant opportunity, however, lies in changing when consumers eat nuts. “Expanding consumption moments beyond traditional evening snacking into daytime and on-the-go occasions.”

PepsiCo is far from alone in pursuing that strategy. Across food and beverage, manufacturers are searching for new occasions capable of driving incremental growth as traditional meal patterns continue to fragment. The objective is no longer simply to win share from competitors but to create additional reasons for consumers to engage with a category.

For Duyvis, that means broadening the role nuts play throughout the day, moving the category beyond traditional sharing occasions and into moments where convenience, protein and satiety become more important purchase drivers.

Yet despite the focus on innovation and growth, Van Twillert argues that some fundamentals must remain unchanged. “Across all these opportunities, maintaining the familiarity and recognisability of the brand remains critical,” he says.

It’s that balance between evolution and consistency that sits at the centre of PepsiCo’s strategy.

The protein boom

Duyvis finds itself operating in a category that aligns naturally with several powerful consumer trends. “Nuts are naturally aligned with current consumer demand for protein-rich, more wholesome snacking,” says Van Twillert.

Protein has become one of the most influential drivers, shaping product development across categories ranging from dairy and bakery to beverages and confectionery. And unlike some sectors that have invested heavily in reformulation or functional fortification, nuts already possess many of the characteristics consumers increasingly seek.

Few snack categories currently benefit from such a favourable combination of trends. Consumers are looking for more protein, more recognisable ingredients and greater satiety, all attributes that nuts can credibly deliver without significant reformulation. Van Twillert says Duyvis is responding by “emphasising the nutritional benefits of nuts, including protein and satiety” while also “expanding into more varied mixes”.

Importantly, though, PepsiCo isn’t positioning Duyvis purely as a health proposition. The company continues to maintain “a strong focus on taste and enjoyment, which remains essential, particularly in social contexts”.

That may be one of the more relevant lessons for other brands. Consumers continue to express interest in healthier products, but taste remains a powerful purchase driver. Brands that successfully combine wellness credentials with enjoyment will today find themselves in a stronger position than those focused exclusively on one or the other.

How PepsiCo is future-proofing Duyvis

Recognition doesn’t automatically translate into relevance, particularly among the younger demographic who discover products through creators, social platforms and shared experiences rather than traditional advertising.

And it’s this audience that Duyvis is targeting. “One of the ways we’re doing that is through innovation in coated nuts inspired by iconic chip flavours,” says Van Twillert. “It’s a way to combine familiar, bold tastes with a more contemporary snacking experience that feels relevant for young adults.”

But product innovation alone isn’t enough. PepsiCo is also leaning hard into experiential marketing, embedding Duyvis more deeply into the social occasions and experiences that matter to younger adults.

“We’re investing strongly in social-first communication and digital activation, showing up in social moments and experiences that matter to young adults,” says Van Twillert. Such as the brand’s presence at the Netherlands’ TAPT festival, where consumers can engage with Duyvis through a karaoke booth and other activations.

Why PepsiCo isn’t leading with heritage

Despite the investment in coated nuts, digital activation and experiential marketing, PepsiCo isn’t attempting to reinvent Duyvis around an entirely new proposition. Instead, it’s building on an idea that has been central to the brand for decades: bringing people together through sharing occasions and social moments.

Van Twillert points to the Dutch concept of the ‘fuif’ – an informal gathering centred on sharing, celebration and togetherness – as a longstanding part of the brand’s identity. While the expression itself may be uniquely Dutch, he believes the underlying insight travels well beyond the Netherlands.

“The broader insight behind the brand is universal: snacks play an important role in bringing people together.”

For manufacturers managing long-established brands, that idea may be more valuable than the anniversary itself. Two centuries of history may earn a brand recognition, but they don’t guarantee future growth.

The task facing PepsiCo isn’t preserving a piece of brand history. It’s ensuring that a 220-year-old brand continues to feel relevant to consumers whose shopping habits, media consumption and expectations look very different from those of previous generations.

That challenge extends far beyond the nuts category.