There are good ideas and there are not-so-good ideas, and the world clearly pronounced this a not-so-good idea when it heard that Doritos are looking into bringing out a ‘ladies’ version of its chips – ‘Lady Doritos’.
In an interview with Freakonomics Radio, PepsiCo CEO Indra Nooyi revealed that ‘gender differences’ are driving product development.
“When you eat out of a flex bag — one of our single-serve bags — especially as you watch a lot of the young guys eat the chips, they love their Doritos, and they lick their fingers with great glee, and when they reach the bottom of the bag they pour the little broken pieces into their mouth, because they don’t want to lose that taste of the flavor, and the broken chips in the bottom,” she explains.
“Women would love to do the same, but they don’t. They don’t like to crunch too loudly in public. And they don’t lick their fingers generously and they don’t like to pour the little broken pieces and the flavor into their mouth.”
As a result, she said, Doritos were researching a chip that would be “low-crunch” with the same “taste profile” and… “purse size.”
“Because women love to carry a snack in their purse,” she explained.
Wow, sounds like something straight out of the 1950s.
The best thing about this news has been the public response to it. Here are some of our favourite responses:
Celebrities have weighed in on the outcry too…
In an interview with The Mix host Mel Homer, Nigella Lawson, who is in New Zealand at the moment for An Evening with Nigella Lawson in Auckland tonight and Christchurch tomorrow night, was asked what she thought of Doritos’ plan to launch a “quiet” corn chip.
“Oh, please don’t get me started,” she told Homer.
“I don’t know who’s in charge of their marketing or their strategy but it is risible. I mean, it’s mad.”
Chrissy Teigen proclaimed that the only quiet chips are “stale chips”.
It’s not the first time a brand has faced a backlash for suggesting a women-only version of its non-gender specific product.
Bic pens were mocked for introducing the Cristal for Her range of pens, that came in pinks and pastels and were smaller to fit in a woman’s hand.
Doritos seem to be backtracking on the comments Nooyi made on Freakonomics Radio.
A rep for PepsiCo told Buzzfeed: “The reporting on a specific Doritos product for female consumers is inaccurate. We already have Doritos for women – they’re called Doritos.
“At the same time, we know needs and preferences continue to evolve and we’re always looking for new ways to engage and delight our consumers.”
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