PepsiCo develops "woman-friendly" version of Doritos

PepsiCo is in the eye of a social media storm, because it wants to market “female friendly” Doritos. Soon, it will launch a range of new products that perfectly fit a hand bag, does not crackle as much and do not stick.

“Women do not want to lick their fingers”

Women allegedly do not enjoy Doritos as much because they are too loud and women do not want to lick their fingers, according to PepsiCo CEO Indra Nooyi. That is why the company, which also sells Lay’s, will launch several so-called “female friendly” versions. 

Men, and mostly young men, eagerly lick their fingers when they reach the bottom of a Doritos bag and try to pour the last crumbs into their mouth, according to Nooyi in a radio conversation with Freakonomics Radio. Women also like to do that but actually refrain from doing so because they do not like the crackling noise in public, do not like to pour and do not want to visibly lick their fingers.

That is why PepsiCo will soon sell chips for women, designed and packaged differently. These chips will not crackle as loudly, give off a full taste without sticking to the fingers and perfectly sized to fit a hand bag. “Because women very much love to have a snack in their bag”, she said.

Protest on social media

The quotes are part of a much longer radio conversation in which she talks, among other things, about PepsiCo’s challenges as consumers move towards healthy products and about her experiences as a female CEO. However, these quotes have gained traction on social and traditional media.

Indra Nooyi – consistently ranked very high in Forbes’ list of most influential (business) women, has now risked the wrath of many women’s organizations, but her comments have also been labeled as gender stereotyped, unnecessary and even anti-women.