The further adventures of Uncle Chipps

PepsiCo India acquired the country’s first home-grown potato chips brand, Uncle Chipps, in 2000 and made it the Cinderella to stepsister Lay’s, limiting distribution to a few markets in the North and East, and virtually stopping advertising. Despite this, sales have increased 10-fold, according to Vidur Vyas, marketing director, foods, PepsiCo India. Uncle Chipps is now India’s No. 2 brand by volume, surpassing ITC’s Bingo and Parle’s Wafers. Vyas attributes this to a sharp regional focus in deciding flavours, packaging, and communication. Customers even send emails or Facebook messages asking for the brand in their cities or towns. Ankur Bien, vice president, retail, of consulting firm Technopak, says it’s because of the strong brand recall. In the last 18 months, PepsiCo seems to have reconciled with the brand’s popularity, expanding it to the South and West, with new flavours—Bombaat Chilli and Jhakaas Tomato—created for these markets.