Even Frito-Lay is coming under our thematic lens with organic Doritos
Amazon.com Inc.’s acquisition of Whole Foods is coming at just the right time for Frito-Lay, the snack giant known for Doritos, Ruffles and Funyuns.The division of PepsiCo Inc. now has versions of 11 core chip brands without artificial ingredients—including Lay’s, Tostitos and Cheetos—and it’s aiming to break out of the traditional snack aisle and get into organic grocery stores. The lineup, marketed under the name “Simply,” meets all the criteria needed to be sold in Whole Foods, according to PepsiCo executive Jonathan McIntyre.It’s all part of a push to build a more healthful reputation for Frito-Lay brands, a significant undertaking at a company famous for bright-orange cheese powder. Natural products are the biggest source of growth for the industry right now, said McIntyre, who oversees research and development for PepsiCo’s snacks. And Frito-Lay sees an opportunity to reach new customers—and charge higher prices—by targeting organic-food shoppers.
Read Full Article Here: Organic Doritos Give Frito-Lay a Pathway Into Whole Foods | News – AdAge
As we’ve discussed here at Tematica often, the implications of Amazon’s acquisition of Whole Foods Market are far-reaching. But we always temper the enthusiasm with the fact that Whole Foods currently has just over 400 stores in the United States. So it’s not as if every American could shop at one of the organic grocer’s stores if they even wanted to, even after Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos made it a tad cheaper this past Monday by slashing prices on many items.
To us, Amazon’s move bring Whole Foods under its umbrella and this story about Frito-Lay developing organic versions of its snack foods are all part of our Foods with Integrity investment theme. The demand for natural, “clean”, non-GMO foods is one of the few areas of growth in the category and the big brands are responding. Of course, there is nothing quite like licking off the orange cheddar residue off your fingers after eating some Doritos!
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