I
have made no secret of my love for Sour Cream & Onion Doritos.
Love
them.
Haven’t
had them in decades. Literally, decades. Production was discontinued.
There was an extremely limited return about ten years ago, and
there are whispers of the flavor existing in foreign markets.
But the reality is simple, the product doesn’t exist.
While
I don’t hide my love of them, I also haven’t started parades or
letter writing campaigns in support of them. I understand that
some products don’t survive. I understand there are reasons for
changes.
Maybe
Sour Cream & Onion Doritos didn’t deliver the sales of other
flavors. Perhaps Frito-Lay, the parent company Doritos is a part
of, made an evaluation about overlapping similar flavors between
products and decided not to go with sour cream and onion for Doritos.
Just
two thoughts there, and I can’t say either one is without merit.
If the chips aren’t selling, they aren’t selling. Much as I enjoy
them, I won’t be buying enough on my own to earn shelf space on
a continuous basis.
And
while I may grumble a bit, and occasionally point in the direction
of silliness, I recognize that many of the decisions are beyond
my control. I absolutely could write a letter, but judging from
products that were brought back that provided major disappointments,
it’s hard to risk the delicious memories on the hopes of truly
bringing back the product I love. (I’m thinking of you, Planters.
Say whatever you want, the Cheez Balls you returned to the shelves
were not even close to the Cheez Balls from thirty years ago.)
Similar
thoughts occur to me about offerings in other countries. Are they
using the same ingredients? Or, are those ingredients sourced
in such a way that the recipe is technically being followed, but
the reality is the flavor will never be the same?
Had
some family visiting last year. They arrived from another country,
where they’ve lived for more than two decades. They stayed for
a few weeks, and we made several trips to the grocery stores.
One thing that stood out to them was the often overwhelming varieties
available for the same products.
Dozens
of options for Oreos. Heinz ketchup? Sure: original, simply, chipotle,
organic, blended veggie, honey sweetened, and the list goes on.
Companies
rarely sit still.
Doritos
sends out all sorts of flavors. They even produce a roulette line.
So, when the occasional tangy bbq or sweet chili arrives, I often
don’t notice for a bit. Some I may eventually try. Some I won’t.
Whatever. But then…
Ketchup
and mustard versions?
Seriously?
Ketchup
and mustard?
I’d
blame Doritos—or more specifically Frito-Lay—but these two flavors
are returning this year after a previous run. Kind of a flavors
of summer limited edition promotion of some sort. And with a return,
it stands that some information exists that led to the decision.
So
here I sit, stuck in Sour Cream & Onion denial. The flavor
doesn’t sell. They have other products using the flavor and want
to drive sales in that direction. Responses may say the flavor
doesn’t work on a tortilla chip base, or Cool Ranch has a very
similar flavor profile and it’s not worth challenging one of the
massive sellers from the brand. The truth is hidden somewhere,
since other than discontinuing the flavor, there is no official
material out there explaining the decision in detail.
But
it’s not enough to be denied the flavor. Not enough to never know
exactly why I’m being denied. Instead, I get to see ketchup and
mustard flavors hit the shelves where the sour cream and onion
should be.
That’s
ok. There are plenty of other options available. (Though not all
of them are made by Frito-Lay.)