Giorgio Trovato/Unsplash

Cheetos Mac ‘n’ Cheese?

09:00 August 11, 2020
By: Caroline Hebert

Cheetos and mac 'n' cheese: two American classics coming together to make an unbeatable meal, slated to be on shelves as of last week in a Walmart near you.

FastCompany.com has released which three flavors will be available: Bold & Cheesy, Flamin' Hot, and Cheesy Jalapeño.

For years, home chefs have been using their creativity by incorporating Cheetos into their dishes, and Rachel Ferdinando, senior VP and chief marketing officer at Frito-Lay North America, says, "They've taken our products and made some incredible mashup recipe dishes, and mac and cheese is one we've seen be very popular. We even created marketing campaigns around this organic behavior. We had the Spotted Cheetah restaurant, followed that up with the Flamin' Hot Spot, so this has been in the DNA of the brand."

Although the brand recently released Cheetos Popcorn earlier this year, the mac 'n' cheese release is different because the fans are what really made this happen.

"The process was a bit different. We did virtual co-creation with key influencers, who were naturally experimenting with Cheetos in their food," says Kristin Kroepfl, vice president and chief marketing officer for Quaker Foods North America. "We wanted to hear what they had to say, then design the execution based on that."

The release of the mac 'n' cheese is supposed to be parallel with the high demand for the product. Ferdinando says that in April, the brand saw online searches for Cheetos recipes jump 192 percent.

The potential of success will rely on the loyal fans who give them new ideas and support due to a love of the brand.

[Hermes Rivera/Unsplash]


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