DALLAS --7-Eleven Inc. and PepsiCo Inc. announced on July 2 the national launch of two complementary food and beverage product innovations for 7-Eleven customers this summer. The two companies are launching Doritos Loaded, a new snack, and Mtn Dew Solar Flare, the first exclusive Mountain Dew flavor for 7-Eleven's Big Gulp fountain drinks.
The companies developed the products, currently available only at 7-Eleven convenience stores, to be paired, and they are being launched with an integrated marketing and consumer-engagement program.
Doritos Loaded is a new snack, triangular in shape, filled with melted cheese and encrusted with Doritos Nacho Cheese flavor. The "melted-on-the-inside, crunchy-on-the-outside" nacho cheese creation is a portable, easy-to-eat hot snack, the companies said.
Doritos Loaded costs $1.99 for a box of four and is served warm.
Mtn Dew Solar Flare, which started to roll out in May, has the citrus flavor of Mountain Dew with a blast of tropical punch.
In addition to Mtn Dew Solar Flare, 7-Eleven also will pair Doritos Loaded with other PepsiCo beverages this summer to bring special offers to consumers.
As part of its Doritos Loaded summer rollout, 7-Eleven will host five "Fully Loaded Fridays." Each Friday between July 25 and Aug. 22, customers who purchase an order of Doritos Loaded will receive a free 20-oz. bottle of Pepsi-Cola Made With Real Sugar.
The companies tested Doritos Loaded earlier this year in a few Washington, D.C.-area 7-Eleven stores. Unofficial reviews landed on news websites, blogs, Facebook and Twitter, months before the product's launch and created demand for the product.
"Doritos Loaded is a never-been-done-before, bold experience with a crunch and, particularly when paired with the intense flavor of Mtn Dew Solar Flare, creates the kind of snack I think our guests will love," said Nancy Smith, 7-Eleven senior vice president of proprietary food and beverage merchandising. "Today, we are bringing these exclusive products to the rest of the country."
"Doritos Loaded and Mtn Dew Solar Flare represent one of the boldest on-the-go snacking and beverage combinations to hit the marketplace in years," said Kirk Tanner, president, PepsiCo Foodservice. "We look forward to bringing these two great, new products to life in 7-Eleven stores across the country this summer."
"PepsiCo is a terrific 7-Eleven partner that's consistently bringing delicious, new food and beverage offerings to our stores," said Smith. "We're always looking to enhance the consumer experience and offer innovative products for our guests. This launch is the perfect example of how we're bringing two complementary brands together in a really powerful way."
McCain Foods USA, a leading supplier of snack food and potato products for the foodservice industry, is manufacturing Doritos Loaded. Doritos is a trademark of Frito-Lay North America, Plano, Texas. Purchase,, N.Y.-based PepsiCo is the parent company of Frito-Lay, which created and markets Doritos brand tortilla chips. Mountain Dew is a product of PepsiCo Americas Beverages.
Dallas-based 7-Eleven operates, franchises or licenses more than 10,300 7-Eleven stores in North America. Globally, there are some 53,100 7-Eleven stores in 16 countries. During 2013, 7-Eleven stores generated total worldwide sales close to $84.5 billion.
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