Walkers crisps enthusiasts have been taken aback after learning why the popular British snack is known as Lays in other parts of the world. The revelation came after a Reddit user questioned the name change, sparking a discussion about the brand's history.
Walkers was founded in Leicester by Henry Walker in 1948 and quickly became a household name, capturing 56% of the UK crisp market by 2013. However, internationally, the same product is sold under the Lays brand, owned by PepsiCo subsidiary Frito-Lay.
The name difference stems from a series of acquisitions. In 1970, the Walker family sold the company to American firm Standard Brands. Nineteen years later, it was bought by Frito-Lay, which already owned the Lays brand. While some suggest Walkers kept its UK name due to brand recognition, others point to slight product variations.
A statement from One Pound Crisps noted: "Walkers crisps and Lays crisps are not exactly the same things, although they are very similar. The main difference is that they are marketed under different names in different parts of the world."
A popular Quora user added that PepsiCo decided to keep the Walkers name in Britain because it was already established, but adopted Lays internationally as the name was easier for non-native English speakers to pronounce. One Reddit user supported this, saying: "Frito-Lay bought Walkers... Because Walkers had 41 years of brand-name recognition, it was kept as the name."
