PepsiCo Sees a Future for Doritos as a Side Dish

PepsiCo Sees a Future for Doritos as a Side Dish

(Bloomberg) — A side of Doritos with your chicken marsala, perhaps?

PepsiCo Inc. wants its products to be eaten at mealtime in addition to being standalone snacks, according to a presentation from Chief Executive Officer Ramón Laguarta. The maker of Lay’s potato chips and Rold Gold pretzels is pushing for its salty snacks to be used as “side dishes and ingredients,” Laguarta said at an industry conference in Boca Raton, Florida. He showed a slide with an image of opened bags of Doritos and Tostitos smothered in cheese and peppers.

The Doritos shown in PepsiCo’s presentation at the Consumer Analyst Group of New York conference were a nod to Dorilocos, a Mexico City street food in which the chips are served in the bag and doused with ingredients from pork rinds and shredded carrots to gummy bears and hot sauce.

They are also known as “walking tacos,” said Amy McCarty, a managing director at Accenture. She called them a “quick and easy meal.”

In parts of the US, Fritos are served mixed with chili, cheese and sometimes other ingredients, a dish known as Frito pie.

PepsiCo has also partnered with fast-food chains such as Taco Bell on Nacho Cheese Doritos Locos Tacos and Papa John’s for Doritos Cool Ranch Papadias.

Packaged-food companies are looking to sell more products following years of price increases that drove revenue higher at the expense of volume. Earlier this month, PepsiCo reported a 2% drop in volume for Frito-Lay North America in its earnings for the fourth quarter.

Not everyone was impressed with PepsiCo’s prospects in the area. Asked about the marketing of Doritos as a side dish, Chris Roberts, senior vice president of institutional equity research sales at Morningstar, said it’s a common company tactic: “You want to throw everything you can at the wall and see what sticks.”

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