Tostitos and TostiCentros (street preparation outlets) faced a difficult situation during 2020 & 2021 due to COVID-19 pandemic restrictions, as many consumers were confined to working or studying from home, and 67% of Mexicans stating they would rather eat at home than out.

For Tostitos, a brand that was consumed 7 out of 10 times outside Mexican households (TostiCentros, Cinemas, Preparation Bars in Convenience Stores, etc.), the situation turned especially dire as consumers weren’t operating under an In-Home preparation mindset, with the main barriers revolving around not having the necessary ingredients available to prepare them at home. The former presented a strategic challenge regarding percap sourcing, simultaneously opening growth opportunities by looking at every household into a potential preparation outlet.

Objectives were set to recover lost volume from out of home by driving In Home Penetration, towards a more evenly balanced consumption towards In & Out of Home.

Across diverse campaigns, “Mom” keeps encouraging her children to experiment with their Tostitos and the wide array of ingredients found across Mexican households, reminding them and all the audience, that even at home and if you might think there’s not, there is always something to prepare your Tostitos with!

Without modifying target and product perception, the brand’s communication strategy made a 180° turn from TostiCentros and the Mexican street scene to a narrow In-Home & Do-It-Yourself focus. This focus shift and knocking down the ingredient-awareness barrier, directly influenced the characters, context and storyline plot, as several family situations portray infinite possibilities of ingredients and ways to prepare your Tostitos with, without having to leave your home.