page_title: Cheetos
section_title: Products and distribution
hierarchical_section_title: Cheetos / Products and distribution
caption_attribution_description: English: Cropped by: Fourohfour, to remove irrelevant/distracting sandwich.
context_page_description: Cheetos is a brand of snacks made by Frito-Lay, a subsidiary of PepsiCo. Fritos creator Charles Elmer Doolin invented Cheetos in 1948, and began national distribution in the U.S. The initial success of Cheetos was a contributing factor to the merger between The Frito Company and H.W. Lay & Company in 1961 to form Frito-Lay. In 1965 Frito-Lay became a subsidiary of The Pepsi-Cola Company, forming PepsiCo, the current owner of the Cheetos brand.
  In 2010, Cheetos was ranked as the top selling brand of cheese puffs in its primary market of the United States; worldwide the annual retail sales totaled approximately $4 billion. The original Crunchy Cheetos are still in production but the product line has since expanded to include 21 different types of Cheetos in North America alone. As Cheetos are sold in more than 36 countries, the flavor and composition is often varied to match regional taste and cultural preferences—such as Savory American Cream in China, and Strawberry Cheetos in Japan.
context_section_description: The first Cheetos product was Crunchy Cheetos, invented in 1948 in San Antonio, Texas. Crunchy Cheetos remained the brand's sole product for 23 years until the introduction of Cheetos Puffs in 1971. The baked varieties, otherwise known as Baked Cheetos, became available beginning in 2004. As of 2010, there are 21 different variants of Cheetos snacks distributed in the United States. In addition to the original Crunchy Cheetos, Cheetos Puffs and Baked varieties are sold in alternate shape and flavor variations—including a spicy variety known as Flamin' Hot Cheetos.
  In the early 1990s, Cheeto released "Flamin' Hot Cheetos". The variety was invented  by a janitor, Richard Montañez, who observed that the brand did not have any products targeting Latinos. The Washington Post would go on to call them "something of a cultural phenomenon", with Newsweek noting that it "rejuvenated the brand" and would become a "central element in Cheetos marketing". 
  Cheetos are among the snack varieties included in the Frito-Lay Munchies snack mix.
  With the introduction of Frito-Lay's Natural line, Natural Cheetos were introduced in the mid-2000s, touting all-natural ingredients and real Wisconsin white cheddar cheese. They accompany other Frito-Lay products in the Natural line and compete in the market space occupied by other health-conscious snack foods, such as Pirate's Booty. The Natural brand was re-branded to Simply in 2014.
  Cheetos first entered Brazil in 1976, followed by other countries such as Australia during the 1980s. In 1994, Cheetos became the first American brand of snack food to be made and distributed in China. As the distribution of Cheetos expanded outside the U.S. to include more than 36 different countries, localized versions were produced to conform to regional tastes and cultural preferences.
  Frito-Lay conducted extensive testing before settling on flavors for the Chinese market, with ranch dressing, North Sea crab, smoked octopus and caramel being passed up for two flavors: Savory American Cream and Zesty Japanese Steak.  These flavors were produced as the result of focus group testing, in which the original Crunchy Cheetos did not test as well. Strawberry Cheetos, a plain corn Cheeto coated in strawberry icing, were released in Japan in 2008. In 2013, a Pepsi-flavored Cheeto was introduced in Japan, and a Mountain Dew-flavored variety was available in 2014. In India, Cheetos Whoosh are sold, made of ingredients such as whole grain and vegetables. In Pakistan Cheetos are available in six different flavors: Bites: Vegetable, Stars: Cream N' Herb, Ocean Safari: Cheese, X & O: Spicy Twist, Red Flavoured Mast and Ketchup. The sole Cheetos product produced in Australia is Cheetos Cheese & Bacon Balls. Cheetos come in many different colors, the most popular being orange and red.
  In 2015, Frito-Lay released a limited edition cinnamon sugar-flavored snack called Sweetos to U.S. markets. Sweetos were the first sweet snack that Cheetos had released in the United States in the brand's 67-year history.
  In the first week of 2020, Frito-Lay began distributing "Cheetos popcorn".
caption: A sample of Crunchy Cheetos
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