PepsiCo backed down and clarified that it will not manufacture Doritos for women, a week after its CEO, Indra Nooyi, left open the door to market Doritos for females, who would make less noise when chewing and fit in their purses.
In an interview with Freakonomics, PepsiCo’s top executive said that men love to lick their fingers after eating Doritos and stick their hands to the bottom of the bag and, “although women would love to do the same, they do not ”
“They do not like to make a lot of noise when they chew in public, and they do not suck their fingers generously, and they do not like to take the crumbs to their mouths,” Nooyi said.
These new Doritos would be less crispy, so that they made less noise when chewing, they would not leave their fingers so sticky and they would go in packages that could be carried in their purses, according to the company’s top manager, who announced that they were “preparing” for launch them “soon”.
After the controversy that sparked his words, and the accusations of machismo, the company has reversed and in the last hours released a statement in which he maintains that the coverage of alleged Doritos specifically for women was “inaccurate”.
“We already have Doritos for women: Doritos are called, and millions of people enjoy them every day,” said the company, which at the same time said he would explore “new ways” to “delight” their customers.
In this way, Doritos does not rule out launching a new range of snacks with the advertised characteristics (less noisy or less sticky) but without classifying them as a product specifically for women.
In countries like the United Kingdom, PepsiCo could not sell potatoes aimed solely at the female audience, as it would go against the new laws against gender stereotypes in advertising that were approved a few months ago, as The Independent pointed out.
