Frito-Lay sought to expand into the nut aisle to attract older, health-conscious consumers and challenge Planters' dominance. Working with Wolff Olins, Frito-Lay developed the TrueNorth brand centered around making a purposeful impact on your life and the world. TrueNorth exceeded sales benchmarks in its test launch and launched nationwide, drawing a new target consumer into Frito-Lay's portfolio. The brand manager was named PepsiCo Innovator of the Year for successfully launching TrueNorth.

1. TRUENORTH: Cracking a
new category
Frito-Lay dominates the snack category with a 70% market share and
in 2006 was looking for new growth opportunities. The Innovation
NEW TERRITORY team asked Wolff Olins to help them make a branded move into the nut
aisle, attracting an older, health-conscious consumer, challenging the
category dominant brand — Planters.
Snacking Through close collaboration with the Frito-Lay team, we developed a
with purpose
looking for authentic, tasty snacks. Understanding the consumers
needs and wants led to a strategic brand idea centered on making
a purposeful impact on your own life and the wider world. This idea
then informed the product development brief, a sustainable
approach to sourcing, manufacturing and distribution, the brand
name — TrueNorth, as well as the natural, simple tone of the
packaging and marketing communications in an otherwise noisy
category. TrueNorth is only the second new brand launched by
Frito-Lay in the past 20 years.
Innovator of The brand manager responsible for the project was named PepsiCo
the year Innovator of the Year for 2007. TrueNorth exceeded sales benchmarks
set for test launch in 2008 and launched nationwide with its
commercial debut at the Academy Awards in 2009. A new target
consumer has been drawn into the Frito-Lay portfolio and initial
consumer research results are outstanding.
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