From Lay’s to luxury: PepsiCo taps gourmet trend with Red Rock Deli’s India debut

Snack and cola maker PepsiCo is finally giving gourmet a chance with the launch of Red Rock Deli chips, priced at ₹60 and ₹125 a pack, in a shift away from its years-long focus on mass-market Lay’s, which starts as low as ₹5.

The move marks PepsiCo India’s most aggressive push yet into the premium end of the salty snacks market—where consumers are unceasingly seeking more gourmet flavours.

This shift is significant because India’s organized snack market is surging—chips are now among the fastest-growing food categories. As consumers pay more for better flavours and premium packaging, startups such as Beyond Snacks, Too Yum! and Cremica’s Opera Chips have stormed the shelves, backed by fresh funding rounds.

With demand rising from metros to smaller towns, the premium snack segment has become the hot growth engine of India’s FMCG landscape—and Red Rock Deli is positioning itself squarely to ride this wave.

“Consumers are evolving. They want new experiences, new flavours, new technologies, new textures. This is our first attempt at true gourmet snacking,” Saakshi Verma Menon, chief marketing officer of foods, PepsiCo India, said in an interview with Mint.

Demand for mindful and intentional indulgence has accelerated in recent years. A few years ago neither the company nor the industry would have anticipated that premium snacking would scale to this extent, she added.

Price shift

PepsiCo’s new gourmet launch includes four variants at the premium end of the category: ₹60 (58g) and ₹125 (75g). In comparison, a 52g Lay’s pack is ₹20, while a 75g Doritos pack sells for ₹48.

The products are being manufactured at PepsiCo’s plants in Channo (Sangrur, Punjab) and Kosi Kalan (Mathura, Uttar Pradesh). Red Rock Deli is an Australian premium brand now being locally produced.

Menon said Indian buyers today are far more informed, health-conscious and willing to experiment across price points.

“The acceptability of artisanal, handcrafted products expands beyond what we may have originally thought of as metro towns,” she said. Pepsi launched its nacho brand Doritos in India in 2015, now available at price points starting at ₹10.

Crowded premium aisle

PepsiCo’s move comes as supermarket shelves see renewed activity in premium foods—driven by innovation from startups such as Beyond Snacks, RPSG-backed Too Yum!, and Cremica’s Opera Chips. Earlier this year, Beyond Snacks raised $8.3 million in a Series A round, led by 12 Flags Group.

With rising competition and a pressured mass-market segment, FMCG firms are doubling down on premium products—from high-end ghee and yogurts to gourmet snacks. Established names such as Marico, Emami and ITC have also entered new-age snacking and packaged foods.

Aditya Goel, founder and chief executive officer of Love In Store, a retail scaling partner for FMCG firms, said the shift is fuelled by quick-commerce platforms. In micro-markets such as Gurugram, premium snacks already command over 50% share on these platforms—a warning sign for legacy brands to innovate or risk losing out.

Production & rollout strategy

Red Rock Deli will first hit online channels, with plan for wider retail rollout as demand picks up.

“As the consumer evolves, we will make sure our products are available agnostic of where they shop,” Menon said.

PepsiCo views this launch as part of a broader hedging strategy—serving both ends of the snacking spectrum: daily staples and occasional indulgence.

PepsiCo India reported revenue of ₹8,877 crore and a profit after tax of ₹883.4 crore for the 12 months ended 31 December 2024. The results reflect both packaged foods business and the concentrate sold to its bottling partner, Varun Beverages—underlining PepsiCo’s broad ambitions in food and beverage.

On the competitive front, in India PepsiCo will square off against companies such as Coca-Cola, ITC, Bikaji and Haldiram’s.

Category momentum

The Indian packaged convenience food industry is expected to reach ₹4,883 billion by FY26, growing at a CAGR of 11% from ₹3,194 billion in FY22, per Deloitte’s 2025 estimates. Global influences—Szechuan sauces, Korean kimchi, Thai curry blends—are increasingly shaping chips and ready foods.

“This dual trend has led to more hyperlocal variants (e.g., millet-based snacks, regional chutneys and heirloom rice packaging) and to niche brands highlighting provenance. Small-scale food manufacturers are scaling up to meet this demand under modern retail and D2C models. This geographically diversified portfolio offers authenticity and novelty to the market,” analysts at Deloitte said in 2025 report on India's consumer market citing trends in the broader snacking market.