PepsiCo unveils new dye-free Doritos and Cheetos with naturally colorless chips

PepsiCo’s Cheetos and Doritos have been stripped of colour. In a press release on November 13, 2025, the multinational food and beverage brand announced that the new variety of its popular corn-based snack foods, termed Simply NKD, would be made with no artificial flavors or dyes and rendered colorless.

Rachel Ferdinando, CEO of PepsiCo Foods US, assured consumers that the original versions of the snacks dressed in red and light orange will remain:

"Rest assured, our iconic Cheetos and Doritos remain unchanged. NKD is an additive option, not a replacement, introduced to meet consumer demand."

Ferdinando added that the new variant of the crunchy snacks shows the brand’s commitment towards a broader transformation and catering to different tastes:

"This move underscores our commitment to flavor leadership, demonstrating that our taste remains strong even without visual cues. As part of our broader transformation, we are expanding choices while still protecting our iconic brands. More choices, same flavor, same brand power."

The R&D teams created the Simply NKD Cheetos in eight weeks, PepsiCo reveals

PepsiCo announced that the development of the new Cheetos and Doritos variants took eight weeks to complete. The newly debuted Simply NKD collection includes:

•  Doritos® Simply NKD™ Nacho Cheese
•  Doritos® Simply NKD™ Cool Ranch®
•  Cheetos® Simply NKD™ Puffs
• Cheetos® Simply NKD™ Flamin’ Hot®

Hernán Tantardini, CMO of PepsiCo, described the new release as a “snacking revolution”:

"No color, no artificial flavors, same intensity — that’s Simply NKD. Doritos and Cheetos are pioneering a snacking revolution, or a renaissance, if you will. We are reinventing our iconic — and most famous — brands to deliver options with the bold flavors fans know and love, now reimagined without any colors or artificial flavors."

The Simply NKD collection is available for preorder with an in-store release starting on December 1, 2025. 

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