Doritos thinks we want nacho cheese-flavored booze

New York
CNN
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Doritos is betting on a new way to get people addicted to tortilla chips: booze.

The PepsiCo-owned brand is launching a new spirit based on Doritos’ nacho cheese flavor that “tastes just like the real thing,” according to a press release. Chipmaker partnered with experimentala Danish company known for manufacturing custom spirits with innovative flavours.

Only available onlineThe limited-edition flavor goes on sale Wednesday in New York and California and costs $65 for a 750 ml bottle.

This isn’t the first food-adjacent product from a big brand. Recently, Kahlúa and Absolut Vodka have made a move Perfume It smells like an espresso martini and Dunkin’ has transformed it Coffee and iced tea In canned cocktails. Also, Arby’s turned wrinkled, wrinkled French fries into vodka, as it created Smoked bourbon To be paired with roast beef.

The goal of these products is to arouse customer curiosity, spark conversation, and increase brand recognition. In other words: it’s a marketing ploy disguised as a product to sell. Don’t expect this to boost Pepsi’s bottom line.

For Doritos and Empirical, the two companies describe the collaboration as “a first-of-its-kind innovation for both brands.” The spirit is made at Empirical’s laboratory through a production process that uses Doritos chips to retain their “essence through vacuum distillation,” which the spirits maker says preserves more of the Doritos flavor than the traditional method.

The spirit’s flavor “starts with the umami and refreshing aroma of nacho cheese, moves into the deeper, corny flavors of the chips to finish with a smooth salty aroma,” the company said.

Since it’s a flavored spirit and not a specific category of alcoholic beverage, Doritos recommends mixing it with tequila or mezcal to make a Bloody Mary or margarita. The wine can also be sipped neat or over ice.

“While the flavor may seem exotic, the collaboration has novel value, and many people will likely be interested enough to try it,” said Neil Saunders, retail analyst and managing director at GlobalData Retail. He added that both Empirical and Doritos are known for being “fun and fun.”

“Consumers are in the mood to test new things and are looking for products that are interesting and a little different from the norm,” he told CNN.