By 10 a.m. Wednesday, the day of its launch, 7-Eleven’s brand new Doritos Loaded product had at least one Crystal Lake fan.
Karen Black-Vetter went into 7-Eleven, 1024 McHenry Ave., Crystal Lake, intending to leave with the usual snacks. But then, she saw the bold red signs advertising Doritos Loaded.
At $1.99 and 360 calories for a pack of four, Doritos Loaded are warm triangular pan-fried snacks, filled with melted cheese and encrusted with the signature nacho cheese flavor.
“We read that sign, and I said, ‘We have to try that,’” Black-Vetter said, sitting in the car with out-of-town friend Leslie Phiscator.
7-Eleven Inc. on Tuesday announced the launch of the new product, which can be found exclusively at 5,500 7-Eleven stores nationwide as of Wednesday, corporate spokeswoman Margaret Chabris said.
The snack food comes hand-in-hand with a new tropical Mountain Dew flavor called Solar Flare.
While its appeal is meant to hit all “on-the-go folks,” Chabris said Doritos Loaded is expected to be especially popular among younger Americans who prefer snacking to full meals – specifically, millennials.
“We have found that more and more people are not sitting down for three square meals a day, but they want something filling and affordable,” she said, adding the information stems from corporate studies. “It seems like, particularly, millennials snack throughout the day, so this is a perfect snack item for them.”
According to a 2012 report from the NDP Group, a market research company that tracks consumer trends, more than half of all Americans – 53 percent – snack two to three times a day.
Darren Tristano, executive vice president of food industry consulting company Technomics Inc., said annual studies done by Technomics also have found today’s America to be more snack-inclined than years prior.
“The snacking trend we’ve seen … is consumers are grazing more now, which means they’re having less to eat with greater frequency,” Tristano said. “Instead of three square meals, we’ve started to see more late-night snacking … and snacking late-morning and mid-afternoon.”
As far as snacks go, however, a dietitian at Centegra Hospital – Woodstock and McHenry said 7-Eleven’s newest product probably isn’t the best choice as it’s heavy in sodium, containing 1,070 mg.
“Anything that is providing half a day’s worth of sodium and it’s just a snack,” Susannah Baldock said, “that would be the first sign to look at something healthier.”
Those who indulge in Doritos Loaded could be swayed simply because of brand familiarity, though.
Tristano said food trends are pointing toward the use of big-name brands to increase revenue opportunities.
“One of the trends we’ve seen has been the opportunity for branded food services to take very leverageable brands like Doritos and other snacks, and build them into food service products in restaurants, and now we’re seeing it more out of the convenience stores.”
Based on previous new-product rollouts, however, Tristano said the buzz will likely quiet down in time.
“Most products that 7-Eleven introduces tend to be on a short-term basis,” he explained. “They’ll probably see how it registers with customers.”
At the Crystal Lake store, owner and franchisee Katen Patel was optimistic about the future of Doritos Loaded.
“I think it targets our target customer; I think kids are going to love it,” Patel said, sporting an official Doritos Loaded T-shirt. “If it does what Doritos does for our chips brand, I think it’ll do really, really well.”
It only took one bite each before Black-Vetter and her friend, Phiscator, were nodding in approval to one another in the car.
“Oh yeah,” Black-Vetter said. “I’ll get this again.”
