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Cheetos and Doritos are getting their colors back as PepsiCo begins rolling out snack options without artificial dyes as part of a new innovation for health-conscious consumers.
The dye-free version of the popular snack brand will be available at retailers nationwide starting December 1 in a new line called Simply NKD. The snack is completely colorless, but tastes the same as traditional Doritos and Cheetos.
“Colorless, artificial flavor-free, equal strength – that’s Simply NKD,” Hernán Tantardini, CMO of PepsiCo Foods US, said in a statement. “We’re reinventing our iconic and most famous brands to offer options with the bold flavors our fans know and love, now reimagined without any color or artificial flavors.”
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Provided by Pepsico
The option comes as a new expansion of PepsiCo’s Simply line, known for reimagining popular snack brands like Tositos and Ruffles without artificial flavors and better-for-you ingredients. Doritos Simply NKD are available in Nacho Cheese and Cool Ranch flavors, while dye-free Cheetos are available in Puff and Flamin’ Hot varieties.
Companies are facing pressure from consumers and a move by the Trump administration to remove artificial dyes from their products, which critics say add no nutritional value and pose health risks. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has called on the food industry to phase out synthetic colors by the end of 2026, and some states are going further by enacting outright bans or labeling restrictions.
However, some companies have been somewhat hesitant to make the switch because they know that consumers respond more positively to bright colors. Large food companies promised to eliminate synthetic dyes about 10 years ago, but backed off again as the performance of products using natural dyes worsened.
That’s one reason PepsiCo isn’t phasing out artificial dyes entirely, instead offering versions of its core brands that are either free of synthetic colors or contain better ingredients. The company is taking a similar approach to expand consumer choice among its other brands and plans to launch Pepsi Prebiotic Cola and low-sugar Gatorade over the next two months.
Rachel Ferdinando, CEO of PepsiCo Foods US, emphasized that the NKD line is “an additional option, not a replacement.”
“As part of our broader transformation, we are expanding choice while protecting our iconic brands,” she said. “More choices, same taste, same brand power.”
