With an explosion of intense and complex Latin flavors beyond just spicy, Frito-Lay kicks off 2024 with the launch of its new snacks, made with consumers who enjoy new experiences in mind.
The NACS 2023 trade show served as the stage for PepsiCo and its convenience food business unit, Frito-Lay, to unveil its new line of Sabritas and Gamesa products that will debut in 2024.
With the growing interest in innovation, Latin flavors will play up PepsiCo’s wide range of snacks this new year.
PepsiCo is planning to announce the new Latin-inspired snacks in a big way in 2024, highlighting the cultural richness behind these explosive and complex flavor mixes.
“We recently saw in a study that brands with a stronger cultural meaning grow faster than those without. Even non-Hispanic consumers appreciate that cultural connection of a brand,” explained Antonio Escalona, senior vice president and general manager of PepsiCo Foods North America’s Hispanic Business Unit, in an interview with Abasto magazine.
“Another interesting feature is that taste is key. Consumers increasingly value intense flavors, and the young Hispanic consumer is influencing tastes not only in the Hispanic group but among the general population in the United States,” Escalona noted.
PepsiCo Foods Hispanic Business Unit, created three years ago, is reaffirming the importance of the Hispanic consumer’s buying power and growing influence in the U.S. market.
To get to the launch of new products, they must first go through a systematic process of testing and studies led by PepsiCo Consumer Insights and Research Development.
“We are constantly investigating consumers’ preferences for new products. We do tastings and ask consumers what they like about the product and whether they would be willing to buy it. Once we get feedback on product concepts consumers like, we start the innovation process by identifying the product, its flavor, its size, where we are going to produce it, and how we are going to market it. This entire process can take up to 18 months,” said Gustavo Giacomini Cecilio, head of Marketing for PepsiCo Foods’ Hispanic Business Unit.
Gustavo noted, “When we conducted studies with multicultural consumers, we discussed intense flavors, not just spicy. Therefore, consumers want more than spicy only. They want an intense and more complex flavor experience. That’s how we were inspired to provide new flavors in the Doritos Dinamita® line, like Flamin’ Hot® Queso and Smoky Chile Queso.”
The innovative Latin snack flavors that will debut nationally in 2024 result from the influence of the robust research process conducted by PepsiCo teams and valuable consumer input.
The New Doritos Dinamita Latin Flavor Explosion
With Doritos Dinamita Sticks Smoky Chile Queso, consumers will enjoy these crunchy sticks that offer a flavor explosion with their melted cheese and smoky, spicy twist, satisfying Generation Z’s preference for multi-dimensional flavor and spice.
In the same line of Doritos Dinamita, Doritos Dinamita Sticks Chile-Limón, crunchy sticks with a perfect combination of spicy and tangy, will also be available in supermarkets.
And lovers of spicy snacks will be able to enjoy Doritos Dinamita Flamin’ Hot Queso. Crunchy rolled corn tortilla chips with an intense flavor balanced by the spiciness of the chiles combined with cheese.
Within these innovative, complex, and authentic flavors, Doritos Dinamita Sticks Hot Honey Mustard crunchy sticks blend the sweetness of honey with mustard and the spiciness of chili in a precise but daring way.
To satisfy palates seeking sweet snacks, through the Gamesa portfolio, PepsiCo is also launching Chokis® Senzo, a chocolate and vanilla cookie with a creamy chocolate filling, and Chokis Brownie Chocotella, cookies with a smooth texture, chocolate flavored chips and a creamy filling that combines the flavors of chocolate and hazelnut, in the U.S. market.
Related Article: Frito-Lay’s U.S. Snack Index Predicts 2024
NatuChips®: An Authentic Snack with Profound Social Impact
Authenticity is the basis of PepsiCo’s product innovation, but the company also goes beyond this by balancing health and social responsibility.
An example of PepsiCo’s mission is offered by NatuChips, another of its snacks that debuts nationally this new year after its great success among Florida consumers.
NatuChips meets the ingredients to make it an authentic, permissible snack product with a beautiful story behind it. “We identified plantain chips because plantains connect with Latino consumers’ heritage and taste preferences. Based on recent consumer research, at the same time, it is a product that is appealing to Hispanic consumers and considered tasty, versatile, and permissible to everyone else in the USA population,” explained Gustavo.
“A large part of the Natuchips we sell in the USA is produced in the Dominican Republic, in farms where dozens of women, following a traditional process, prepare and peel the plantains”, said Gustavo.
“PepsiCo supports our farmers and all the women who peel the plantains one-to-one in the production process. We have a foundation through which we develop them and encourage best practices of plantain production,” concluded Gustavo.