One Of America's Biggest Snack Brands Is Making Big Changes Before The End Of 2025

America's favorite snacks have long been associated with extensive lists of artificial ingredients, but that may be on the verge of changing, as one of the biggest names on your grocery store shelf, Lay's, is about to phase them out. This comes as a wave of activism around food additives like artificial coloring food dyes has been sweeping the country, putting pressure on companies to drop long-used synthetic and processed ingredients. The move was announced by Lay's in an official press release, along with a larger overhaul of the brand's image. In that same announcement, the company pledged to remove "all artificial flavors and colors from artificial sources" — and to do so by the end of 2025.

Lay's notes that the changes will affect its entire core portfolio of products, including the Lay's, Lay's Baked, and Lay's Kettle Cooked brands, and that all future releases will be held to the same standard. In addition to those artificial ingredients, Lay's is also changing the recipe on some of its baked and kettle-cooked products to both lower the fat content and respond to consumer preferences around certain cooking oils. Lay's Baked is switching to olive oil, after having previously been made with corn oil, and the reduced-fat version of Lay's Kettle Cooked will now use avocado oil instead of its current mixture of corn, canola, and sunflower oil. This should give fans the option to avoid seed oils if they want while still preserving the flavor of other Lay's potato chip products.

The changing of recipes and dumping of artificial flavors and colors is being paired with what Lay's calls its "most ambitious visual refresh in its nearly 100-year history." The new design is all about highlighting the more natural process, namely the fact that Lay's chips are made with real potatoes, which the company says many consumers don't realize. In addition to a new font, the bags will now feature photos of whole potatoes and other fresh ingredients set on a rustic wood-paneled backdrop. The color schemes of each bag will also be getting a refresh to make them more vibrant, pairing naturally with the ingredients used in each flavor.

Lay's announcement comes as more brands and companies are succumbing to the pressure campaign against artificial ingredients. Just last week Walmart announced it was dropping artificial dyes (and other ingredients) from its store-brand products. Other brands like General Mills and PepsiCo made similar pledges earlier this summer. But while certain dyes do have legitimate health concerns around them, it is important to remember that simply dropping these additives doesn't automatically make snack foods healthy. Much of the problem with ultra-processed food comes from the high amounts of fat and sugar, the former of which Lay's also appears to be addressing. While Lay's (and other companies) moves here are worthwhile, they only address a small part of the problem with standard American diets.