Many people have noticed that Walkers crisps go by a different name abroad, and there is a very good reason why. Walkers, one of the most popular crisp brands in the UK, was established in Leicester by Henry Walker in 1948. The cherished snack swiftly became a household staple, capturing a remarkable 56% of the British crisp market in 2013.
Brand Identity and Logo
The brand is immediately identifiable by its iconic logo featuring a yellow sun with a red ribbon running through its centre displaying the name 'Walkers'. However, abroad, the identical logo bears 'Lays' instead. This discrepancy has prompted questions on Reddit, such as: "Why is Walkers called Lays literally everywhere except in the UK?"
Corporate History
In 1970, the Walker family sold the enterprise to American food manufacturer Standard Brands. Nineteen years later, it was acquired by Lay's owner Frito-Lay, a subsidiary of PepsiCo. While some suggest that Walkers kept its name in the UK due to its firmly established presence, others argue it is due to minor variations between the two products.
Differences Between Walkers and Lays
A statement on One Pound Crisps read: "Walkers crisps and Lays crisps are not exactly the same things, although they are very similar. Both brands offer a range of potato chips and savoury snacks, and they are both owned by the same parent company, PepsiCo. However, there are some differences between the two brands."
They offer similar products, but there may be differences in flavours, packaging, and other aspects. The main difference is that they are marketed under different names in different parts of the world. Walkers is the brand name used in the UK and Ireland, while Lays is the brand name used in most other countries, including the United States, Canada, and Australia.
Explanations from Quora and Reddit
A highly-rated Quora user explained: "The brand that came first was Lays. Walkers, a very successful crisp brand that Americans wanted to copy and bring over to the States due to its success in the UK and among their American Soldiers. Once Pepsi bought the English company Walkers and the American company Lays, they had a meeting on the name and which to adopt. They found that the name Walkers was too hard for non-native/fluent English speakers to say due to the W, K and R. Many people struggle to pronounce these letters in non-English speaking countries, making international branding much harder. They decided to keep the name Walkers in Britain where the concept of these crisps came from, but all international sales would be called 'Lays' from now on, retaining the original 1930 Lays company name."
Supporting this view, a Reddit user commented: "Frito-Lay bought Walkers, a separate company at the time, in 1989. Because Walkers had 41 years of brand-name recognition, it was kept as the name... people in the UK already knew and were familiar with that brand."
