Are “Lady Doritos” coming to a store near you?

You may have seen posts with the hashtag #LadyDoritos floating through your social media feed this week as people reacted to a remark made by PepsiCo CEO Indra Nooyi last week. In a January 31 podcast interview with the “Freakonomics Radio” program, the executive told the interviewer that women didn’t consume snacks like Doritos in the same way as men. “They don’t like to crunch too loudly in public,” she said. “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.”

When asked whether this meant that male and female-branded snacks were in development, Nooyi responded with an answer that caused an uproar: “It’s not a male and female as much as, ‘Are there snacks for women that can be designed and packaged differently?’ And yes, we are looking at it, and we’re getting ready to launch a bunch of them soon.” She went on to indicate that snacks geared toward women would be quieter, and packages would be sized to fit more easily into purses, because “women love to carry a snack in their purse.” 

Once the word got out, negative reactions began to pour in swiftly. Women ridiculed the concept that they were expected to eat quietly and wouldn’t want to eat the crumbs out of the bottom of the Doritos bag because they were too messy.  Most of the posts poked fun at the idea with humorous examples of what a “lady snack” might look like. 

Soon, PepsiCo was in full retreat mode, saying that it was all a misunderstanding. “The reporting on a specific Doritos product for female consumers is inaccurate,” the company said in a statement. “We already have Doritos for women – they’re called Doritos, and they’re enjoyed by millions of people every day.” They didn’t refute the idea completely, however, saying that “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.” We’ll have to see what that looks like, but it probably will not include the word “lady” in it.