Dive Brief: 

• Frito-Lay brand Lay’s is joining a viral TikTok trend around turning potato chips into mashed potatoes with the release of a new cookbook kit made with reality TV star Matt James, per a company release. In total, the chips to mashed potatoes TikTok trend has amassed over one million views to date.
• The “Lay's Potato Chip to Potato Dish with Matt James" cookbook kit includes a limited-edition bag of Lay’s chips and a Lay’s mashed potatoes recipe made by James. The brand is sharing the recipe on social and running a giveaway through Nov. 12 on Instagram and X.
• The latest effort from Lay’s showcases how marketers continue to tap into social media virality to find new ways to promote their products and reach new audiences. The move also follows a string of other creative efforts by the brand this year. 

Dive Insight: 

Lay’s is making it known that it plans to stick by consumers, even through the making of unique concoctions, with the launch of its “Potato Chip to Potato Dish” cookbook kit, leveraging the star power of “The Bachelor” veteran James to help reach consumers and effectively tap into TikTok virality. The effort is marketed around Friendsgiving events, with mashed potatoes likely a popular commodity, which could help the brand stay front-of-mind during the holidays. 

Playing off the viral cooking trend, Lay’s cooking kit is complete with a bag of Lay’s reimagined for Friendsgiving and a mashed potatoes recipe from James, which can be found on the brand’s Instagram. Additionally, now through Nov. 12 consumers can win the kit by following both Lay’s and James on Instagram or X (formerly known as Twitter), liking the launch post and using hashtags #LaysMashedPotatoes and #Sweepstakes.

“Since Lay's potato chips are made with real potatoes, we're able to show fans a new way to get creative in the kitchen with this dish and bring a little extra fun to the table this holiday season,” said Tina Mahal, senior vice president of marketing at Frito-Lay, in release details.

The latest effort by Lay’s follows other creative marketing moves by its parent company this year. For example, Frito-Lay in September promoted its Flamin’ Hot flavor by teaming up with rapper Megan Thee Stallion for an effort around the fictitious Flamin’ Hot University. In January, Lay’s teamed with music artist Anitta for a Latino TV spot, “Beat of Joy,” that features a remix of the Brazilian star’s hit song, “Envolver,” that was recorded in a studio that leveraged the electricity created by more than 6,000 potatoes in a nod to Lay’s main ingredient.

Lay’s is one of the latest in a line of brands to jump on a trend of marketing products inspired by TikTok users. Last year, Pepsi employed actress Lindsay Lohan to promote the making of “Pilk” – a combination of milk and Pepsi – during the holidays, and earlier this year, Chipotle added a digital-only Fajita Quesadilla to its menu after TikTok users popularized the item. Similarly, Hellmann’s created a special page on its website dedicated to TikTok recipes in which mayonnaise is a main ingredient.