Objectives
By 2019, Cheetos had seemingly reached its growth limit. Household penetration was plateauing and the brand was losing share in the salty snack category.
This led to a new product innovation from the brand: Cheetos Popcorn. By bringing the Cheetos experience to an entirely new snack audience, the plan was to bring more households into the Cheetos franchise to fuel growth.
However, there was a tension from the start. The popcorn subcategory overwhelmingly touts "simple", "healthy" and "wholesome" as attractors. The big players in popcorn are marketed as the snacking choice for those looking for a "better for you"...