How PepsiCo designed Doritos and Cheetos without the orange dust

It’s an experience almost everyone is familiar with: that moment after you’ve been mindlessly snacking on a bag of Cheetos, when you realize that your fingers are now coated in a gritty, fluorescent orange dust. The finger dust phenomenon is so ubiquitous that Doritos and Cheetos have each run their own ads centering on the topic. Now, PepsiCo is debuting a version of both iconic snacks that come sans artificial orange. 

PepsiCo recently announced a product line called “Simply NKD,” a new sub-category of Doritos and Cheetos that come with no artificial flavors or dyes, rendering them “completely colorless.” The collection will include orange-dust-free versions of Doritos Nacho Cheese, Doritos Cool Ranch, Cheetos Puffs, and Cheetos Flamin’ Hot, set to arrive on shelves starting on December 1. 

PepsiCo already sells a line of Cheetos and Doritos called “Simply” that are made with no artificial colors or flavors, but they come in separate flavor offerings like white cheddar. “Simply NKD,” on the other hand, are supposed to taste exactly like the classic Doritos and Cheetos you know and love, just with a less vibrant appearance. 

For PepsiCo, the Simply NKD line is part of a larger effort to expand the company’s focus on health and nutrition, as a growing number of customers (especially young people) become more invested in wellness. It also signals a broader trend across the snack and beverage industry, as major corporations rush to replace artificial food dyes amidst new legislation from the The President administration designed to phase out certain artificial dyes.

PepsiCo’s next move

PepsiCo has recently been on a mission to shift its brand toward a healthier product lineup—including, most recently, by rebranding its corporate identity to resemble stalks of grain and a droplet of water.

In a February earnings call, PepsiCo CEO Ramon Laguarta explained that the company has seen “a higher level of awareness in general of American consumers toward health and wellness,” which he said was driving shifts in how consumers approach snacking. PepsiCo has followed that trend by pouring more investment into health-conscious moves, including by acquiring the grain-free, “healthy” tortilla chip brand Siete Foods and the prebiotic soda brand Poppi, as well as prepping to launch its own prebiotic cola brand this fall and introducing Lay’s and Tostitos with no artificial colors or flavors by the end of the year.

Meanwhile, PepsiCo is facing another external pressure to change some of its core offerings: Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s plan to phase out eight petroleum-based artificial colors from the nation’s food supply. Already, many major companies have pledged to remove synthetic dyes from certain snacks and candies, including Kraft Heinz, General Mills, Nestlé, and Campbell’s. 

PepsiCo announced in April that it would accelerate a planned shift to using natural colors in its foods and beverages. As of now, about 40% of its U.S. products use synthetic dyes, including Doritos and Cheetos, which both rely on a combination of Yellow 6, Yellow 5, and Red 40 to achieve their iconic hues.

Right now, PepsiCo is actively working on finding natural alternatives to color its core products like Gatorade and Cheetos—a process that could take several years. In the meantime, the company is betting that some customers will prefer a new version of their favorite snacks without any color additives at all.

How PepsiCo designed dust-less chips

Simply NKD are Doritos and Cheetos as you’ve never seen them before—both in and out of the packaging. 

Compared to their electric orange original counterparts, these “naked” versions of the snacks are both a light yellow hue. In an interview with Bloomberg, Rachel Ferdinando, CEO of PepsiCo Foods U.S., said that expert tasters tried the chips under special red lights that prevented them from seeing the chips’ color in order to ensure that the NKD versions are just as tasty as the orange ones.

The chips’ packaging has similarly lost its quintessential color. Both the Cheetos and the Doritos bags are mostly white, with pops of orange, red, and blue depending on the specific flavor. 

“To communicate that the new products are free from artificial flavors and dyes—making them colorless—we intentionally stripped away the classic bright hues that consumers expect, starting with a blank canvas,” a PepsiCo Foods U.S. spokesperson told Fast Company, adding that the design differentiation is enhanced by incorporating elements like a matte finish, metallic accents, and a simplified presentation. And in case anyone is still confused, every bag comes with the phrase, “Naked of dyes” alongside an arrow pointing to an image of the chip.

“When you see the Simply NKD bag on the shelf against the sea of colorful bags, it’s hard to miss,” the spokesperson says.

The visual identity is obviously walking a fine line between communicating the nakedness of the chips while also steering clear of any visual signals that would consign them to the health food category. In other words, these aren’t “healthy” Cheetos and Doritos; they’re just colorless. 

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