Snacks & Candy

Frito-Lay Ignites Flamin’ Hot Faceoff

Campaign pits new Doritos Xxtra Flamin’ Hot Nacho chips against Cheetos Flamin’ Hot Spicy Pepper Puffs
doritos xxtra flamin hot
Photograph courtesy of Frito-Lay North America

PLANO, Texas — With its latest product release, PepsiCo’s Frito-Lay North America will pit two of its largest snack brands against one another in an interactive marketing campaign intended to bring the heat.

The Plano, Texas-based brand is introducing Doritos Xxtra Flamin’ Hot Nacho and will bring back previous limited-time release Cheetos Flamin’ Hot Spicy Pepper Puffs as part of a “Flamin’ Hot Faceoff" campaign that will “let true fans determine, once and for all, the true Flamin' Hot icon.”

“We’ve seen fans of Doritos and Cheetos debate and advocate for their favorite snacks for years, and now it’s taken on a life of its own on social media,” said Stacy Taffet, vice president of marketing for Frito-Lay North America. “So, we wanted to fan the flames with a playful Frito-Lay family competition to really see which snack is tops. Obviously, I can’t pick a side, but I’m fairly certain everyone will win in this competition.”

Turning up the heat further, Doritos and Cheetos have created a limited-edition Flamin’ Hot collection of merchandise (branded jackets, hoodies, sweatpants, hats and more) that they will give away each Thursday through July 7 to help fans sport their team’s swag, the company said.

Meanwhile, fans can vote for their team by following Doritos and Cheetos on Instagram and commenting on their weekly merchandise giveaway posts, or by or using hashtags #TeamCheetos, #TeamDoritos and #FlaminHotFaceOff on Instagram and Twitter.

Purchase, N.Y.-based PepsiCo’s food and beverage portfolio includes Frito-Lay, Gatorade, Pepsi-Cola, Quaker, Tropicana and more.

Members help make our journalism possible. Become a CSP member today and unlock exclusive benefits, including unlimited access to all of our content. Sign up here.

Multimedia

Exclusive Content

Foodservice

Here are the restaurant segments most ripe for c-store competition

Convenience stores have plenty of runway to go head-to-head with restaurants on pizza, breakfast, fried chicken and more

Mergers & Acquisitions

RaceTrac enters uncharted territory with its Potbelly acquisition

The Bottom Line: There has never been a purchase of a restaurant chain the size of the sandwich brand Potbelly by a convenience-store chain. History suggests it could be a difficult road.

Foodservice

Wondering about Wonder

Marc Lore's food startup is combining c-stores, restaurants, meal kits and delivery into a single "mealtime platform." Can it be greater than the sum of its parts?

Trending

More from our partners