Saucy and doughy deep dish pizzas; hot dogs smattered with mustard, sweet pickle relish, sport peppers and a dash of celery salt; and Italian beef sandwiches dripping with au jus are the foods and flavors that make Chicago – they also are inspiration for CPG newcomer Local Style Potato Chips.
On April 8, Laura Gardner launched Local Style, following a career in CPG and retail, working for companies like PepsiCo, Procter & Gamble, and more recently convenience chain Foxtrot.
The brand launched with five flavors – Deep Dish Pizza, Hot Dog, Hot Giard (as in giardiniera), Italian Beef and Classic Salted – as an ode to Chicago’s most iconic flavors, Gardner explained.
Local Style is taking a page out of the CPG startup playbook by being hyper focused on her local retail market first, before setting sights beyond the City of the Big Shoulders. Clever branding and fun mascots also are providing consumers a way to connect with the budding Local Style community, Gardner shared.
“Local Style is really a love letter to Chicago. It is a celebration of all of our famous foods and the people who love them,” Gardner said. The brand is “really a statement and a rally cry and a point of connection for people who share my belief that Chicago has the best food in the world, and really that deserves to be celebrated in a really fun snack,” she added.
Threading ‘the needle of high-brow and low-brow eating’
Chicago flavors are having “a bit of a cultural moment,” with TV shows like FX’s The Bear making “people everywhere aware of and fall in love with Chicago kitchens,” Gardner said.
Additionally, Chicago became the home of the James Beard Awards – an award honoring American chefs – in 2015, which became a badge of honor for the city and its food, she noted.
“We have 19 Michelin-star restaurants and also 1,800 hot dog stands. So, there is no city in the world that threads the needle of high-brow and low-brow eating quite like Chicago,” Gardner elaborated.
“The most successful brands do not really sell products. They sell belonging. They are really about a tribe and a group of people who share a set of values and beliefs. And I think that’s what’s really unique and special about Local Style. It is a snack brand, but it is also a secret handshake for Chicagoans.”
Laura Gardner, CEO and founder of Local Style Potato Chips
Local Style is not just focusing on Chicago for flavor inspiration but is also making the city its retail focus. The chip brand launched in Chicago delis and markets like Beatrix Market, D’Amato’s, Goddess & the Grocer, J.P. Graziano, Mr. Beef and the Vienna Beef factory store and is available through a direct-to-consumer website.
“Chicago has 77 neighborhoods. And so our focus in the first year is really about being part of the fabric of those 77 neighborhoods, and literally me, going door-to-door and selling into local delis and markets and convenience stores, shops and hotels – the places that make up the community and that make our city tick,” she elaborated.
Differentiating beyond taste: Local Style’s branding
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Local Style goes beyond recreating Chicago tastes in chips and embraces the city’s identity with its packaging design and illustrated mascots, Gardner noted.
For instance, Local Style features a hot dog mascot, “Davey Dog,” holding a pickle and sports peppers, while the potato mascot, “Mikey Ringer,” reps a Chicago flag t-shirt for the classic salted chips.
Local Style is fostering a sense of community and belonging through its branding, Gardner explained. Local Style will be sharing this brand identity with the community directly, as street and park fests return in spring and summer, she added.
“The most successful brands do not really sell products. They sell belonging. They are really about a tribe and a group of people who share a set of values and beliefs. And I think that is what is really unique and special about Local Style. It is a snack brand, but it is also a secret handshake for Chicagoans,” she elaborated.
