"Sizzlin’ Hot is the boldest product for Doritos & one of our biggest launches"

Doritos has set the market ablaze this winter season with Doritos Sizzlin' Hot. The flavour is so intense that its snacking experience will have you saying ‘Chips Nahi Fire’. Inspired by the globally iconic and popular platform Flamin' Hot, Sizzlin' Hot taps into the "chilli '' flavour bucket with the boldest flavour yet from the House of Doritos.

The launch of this new flavour is in response to increasing consumer demand for spicy flavours in the Indian snack food category, with 'Chilli' being one of the key flavours growing rapidly in this category. The new Doritos Sizzlin' Hot is one of the top platform in its category and expands the brand's game beyond the classic flavours.

ALSO READ:  Doritos unveils new TVC ft. brand ambassador Kartik Aaryan & Rohit Shetty

In an exclusive interaction with Adgully, Ankit Agarwal, Associate Director, Brand Marketing – PepsiCo India, speaks at length about the newly launched Doritos Sizzlin’ Hot; the research and development for the new launch, how this is the first campaign for a flavour; how has the snacking market performed in the year 2022, and much more…

Recapping the year 2022, Ankit Agarwal said, “This has been a good year for us, with a strong focus on innovation, in fact, innovation has contributed to a large part of our portfolio growth. For Doritos, we have launched our biggest and boldest innovation , Doritos Sizzlin’ Hot and we have high expectations from it, since globally as well Flamin’ Hot platform does very well on Doritos."

On the idea behind their new launch, Agarwal said, “We wanted to own the spice bucket, and launch a really hot flavour, something that fits right into the bold flavours for Doritos. That was the thought behind the launch and our R&D team did a fantastic job of delivering exactly that! Of the various flavours that we tested, the flavour that won hands down was the hottest of the lot. The winning flavour, which became our Doritos Sizzlin’ Hot flavour is an explosive combination of cheese and spice, and has the consumer reaching out for another chip every time!"

Sharing about their recently launched media campaign, he said, “For a product as bold as our Sizzlin’ Hot, we obviously needed a campaign that matches the boldness of the product. That’s where the concept of #ChipsNahiFire was born, and we have a campaign that really brings alive the heat of the product! The main film is a beautifully shot & fresh “behind the scenes” take on Rohit Shetty directing Kartik Aaryan in the Doritos Sizzlin’ Hot commercial. While Kartik is very keen on crunching into his favourite Doritos, Rohit insists he uses a stunt double for eating the intensely hot chip, for his own safety. Kartik doesn’t agree, and hilarity ensues post Kartik bites into the Doritos Sizzlin’ Hot Chip"

About the media mix for this campaign, Ankit noted, “While TV still remains the go-to medium, we have realised that for Doritos, our audience has a disproportionately high affinity for digital, and hence, over the past couple of years, our media mix has also evolved to cater to that. While we break the main campaign on TV, we plan to have a strong 360 degree campaign on digital as well to make sure we reach these audiences. While Youtube, Facebook, Instagram are the key platforms, we are always open to new platforms which are gaining traction."

The snacking market has rapidly evolved in the past few years, on which Ankit Agarwal pointed out, “One of the biggest changes we are seeing post Covid is the fact that consumers are looking for better quality and trusted products, because of which stronger brands are growing faster. The other insight is that the in-home consumption has gone up, which is similar to the consumption of Doritos seen globally – larger bags getting stocked at home and consumed. Doritos with its INR 30, INR 50 and INR 85 price points is well suited to the needs of the in-home consumer”

Highlighting his plans for 2023, Ankit said, “The idea in 2023 is to obviously make Sizzlin’ Hot platform bigger but we have new initiatives also coming. Innovation is going to be a focus area for Doritos and PepsiCo, and our endeavour is to launch new and differentiated platforms and not just run of the mill flavours. We are clear that any innovation we put out should have a strong right to succeed, which is the reason why the consumer will prefer us over the plethora of options present currently in the market."

Not limited to a TVC, the campaign will continue with a robust 360-degree surround spanning multiple platforms just for the fans.