'Lady Doritos' U-Turn: Here Are Five Other Products 'For Women' That Didn't Need Inventing

Pink lady products, get in the bin ๐Ÿ—‘
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Crunch away to your heartโ€™s content because โ€œLady Doritosโ€ will not be hitting supermarket shelves after all. The makers of Doritos, PepsiCo, said rumours circulating about the new product were โ€œinaccurateโ€, adding: โ€œWe already have Doritos for women โ€“ theyโ€™re called Doritos, and theyโ€™re enjoyed by millions of people every dayโ€.

The term โ€œLady Doritosโ€ began circulating online on Monday after PepsiCo CEO Indra Nooyi told Freakonomics Radio women worry about crunching loudly when eating crisps and long to fit packets into their handbags. The CEO said the company was โ€œlooking atโ€ the idea of โ€œsnacks for women that can be designed and packaged differentlyโ€. She added: โ€œWeโ€™re getting ready to launch a bunch of them soonโ€.

But following the backlash of the concept, with many calling the idea of women-specific snacks โ€œsexistโ€, it seems PepsiCo thought better of it. Quite frankly, weโ€™re glad to hear we wonโ€™t be seeing another unnecessary gender-specific product on supermarket shelves. Here are five other โ€œlady productsโ€ that should never have been invented. Surprise surprise, theyโ€™re all pink.

1. BIC for Her

Bic

Who could forget the now-infamous BIC for Her? To save women from the perils of writing with a blue pen, BIC launched the pink alternative in 2012. Following a eyebrow-raising advert, the pink pen was called out for being โ€œsexistโ€ at the time, but BIC claimed the product had โ€œproved to be very popularโ€.

2. Aurosa #BeerForHer

A post shared by Aurosa (@aurosa_official) on

Entrepreneur Martina Smirova launched #BeerForHer under the brand Aurosa last year. The product was supposedly meant to empower women to drink beer while embracing their feminine selves, but it was called โ€œpatronisingโ€ on Twitter. In response to criticism Smirova said she โ€œnever intended to dictate what women should or shouldnโ€™t drinkโ€, adding: โ€œWe are simply a brand that wants to offer beer in an elegant and beautiful bottle, something that has not been done before.โ€

3. KitchenAid For Women

In 2017 appliance brand KitchenAid came under fire for an advert featuring pink products accompanied by the slogan โ€˜KitchenAid for Womenโ€™. In response to the criticism, KitchenAid clarified the ad was created to highlight the โ€˜Cook for the Cureโ€™ program, which raises funds for breast cancer research. However, the company apologised for any offence caused by the wording and removed the ad.

KitchenAid


4. SEAT Mii

SEAT

Launched in 2016, SEATโ€™s Mii was designed in partnership with Cosmopolitan magazine and was supposedly meant to โ€œconnect with modern womenโ€. Its โ€œsurprise sparkleโ€ and โ€œeyeliner-shaped headlightsโ€ failed to hit the mark with men and women on Twitter though, with many pointing out cars do not need to be gender-specific.

5. The LadyBall

In 2016 a team of entrepreneurs created the โ€˜LadyBallโ€™, a pink football designed to make the โ€œmasculine world of sportsโ€ accessible to women. Many on social media speculated the product was actually a joke, but the makers did not confirm or deny this. Either way, as some at the time pointed out โ€œwomenโ€™s sport is still the punchlineโ€.

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