For decades, the path to a new snack obsession was pretty straightforward. You walked down the chip aisle, spotted a bright new bag, took a gamble, and off it went into your cart.
But as the “Big Food” giants try to keep pace with a generation that spends more time on their phones than in supermarket aisles, strategies are changing.
Joining the likes of Nike, Fenty Beauty, and Hershey’s is PepsiCo, with three new chip mashups that the company has put up on TikTok Shop first, instead of letting grocery shelves do the work.
The line, called Flavor Swap, mixes the company’s own brands by taking a seasoning people already know and putting it on a different chip than it normally lives on. Each one is tied to a creator, like a signature menu item that happens to be in a bag.
The three swaps include:
-
Lay’s Sweet Southern Heat Barbecue flavor on Cheetos Crunchy (paired with Madison Beer)
-
Ruffles Cheddar & Sour Cream flavor on Doritos (paired with iShowSpeed)
-
Doritos Cool Ranch flavor on Ruffles (paired with Dude Perfect)
The products are now available on TikTok Shop, with a nationwide rollout starting March 1.
The flavor picks aren’t the obscure sort. In its announcement, PepsiCo pointed out that Cool Ranch is the No. 2 Doritos flavor (by popularity), Cheddar & Sour Cream ranks as the top Ruffles flavor, and Sweet Southern Heat Barbecue aligns with the rising “swicy” (sweet-spicy) trend.
The launch lands right after PepsiCo unveiled plans to cut prices by nearly 15% on a chunk of its snacks, including Lay’s, Doritos, and Cheetos, as it tries to get volume moving again among shoppers who’ve been tightening spending.
PepsiCo also attached some stats to justify why it’s selling chips where people normally buy phone cases. The company highlighted that 68% of Gen Z have bought directly through social platforms, and 74% of U.S. consumers have bought something after an influencer recommendation.
Sources: PepsiCo, Food Dive, Pepsi Newsroom