Stand Down, Twitter: Lady Doritos Are Not Real

Hoo-boy, did the Internet catch fire yesterday when news circulated that a major company was developing a version of snack food meant for delicate feminine sensibilities. And while it made for an impassioned trending topic, the story got a bit twisted — as stories do — when it took on a life of its own online.

ICYMI, the Internet had plenty of thoughts over PepsiCo's so-called plan to develop "Lady Doritos," a version of the snack marketed to women for its tidier, less noisy qualities. The feedback (ahem) took hold after PepsiCo C.E.O. Indra Nooyi, speaking on a recent episode of the Freakonomics podcast, said the company was looking into launching products aimed specifically at women consumers. "We are looking at it, and we're getting ready to launch a bunch of them soon," she said.

But what she didn't actually say was that Lady Doritos were a real thing coming to market; the Internet collectively circulated that headline, convenient for its polarizing, outlandish premise.

On Monday night, PepsiCo responded to the backlash against its rumored new Lady Doritos product, as reported in AdAge: "The reporting on a specific Doritos product for female consumers is inaccurate," according to a spokesperson. "We already have Doritos for women — they're called Doritos, and they're enjoyed by millions of people every day. At the same time, we know needs and preferences continue to evolve and we're always looking for new ways to engage and delight our consumers."

The statement may or may not appease the Twittersphere, still reeling from the C.E.O.’s comments about gendered eating habits: “Women would love to [snack like men], but they don't. They don't like to crunch too loudly in public. And they don't lick their fingers generously and they don't like to pour the little broken pieces and the flavor into their mouth."