There seems to be a universal belief among food, drink and cosmetics companies that women cannot possibly use the same products as men.
Women and men seem, in their eyes, are so fundamentally different that they couldn’t under any circumstances share the same formulation of beverage, deodorant or chocolate bar.
Women’s products are either 'light', 'diet' or 'indulgent', while men’s have dark packaging to make sure they aren’t mistaken for a ‘woman’s product’.
‘Is that Diet Coke you’re drinking mate?’
‘Eh? This? No way! It’s manly Coke Zero bro.’
The latest brand to bring out a lady-friendly version of their product is Doritos.
The new formulation will be less crunchy, leave less residue on the hands, and be a different size so they can fit into women’s handbags.
‘As you watch a lot of the young guys eat the chips, they love their Doritos, and they lick their fingers with great glee, and when they reach the bottom of the bag they pour the little broken pieces into their mouth, because they don’t want to lose that taste of the flavour, and the broken chips in the bottom,’ said Indra Nooyi, CEO of PepsiCo, who own Doritos, in a recent interview with Freakonomics Radio.
‘Women would love to do the same, but they don’t. They don’t like to crunch too loudly in public. And they don’t lick their fingers.
‘It’s not a male and female as much as 'are there snacks for women that can be designed and packaged differently?' And yes, we are looking at it, and we’re getting ready to launch a bunch of them soon.
‘For women, low-crunch, the full taste profile, not have so much of the flavor stick on the fingers, and how can you put it in a purse?’
We definitely feel like we’re being trolled here, has the female CEO of one of the largest food and beverage companies in the world really said that women don’t like to crunch too loudly and lick their fingers in public?
And what size pack fits into a woman’s handbag – bags come in different sizes no? Ours are huge and could fit a small family never mind a bag of crisps.
READ MORE: Team Debrief's Best Hangover Cures
Here's Team Debrief's Best Hangover Cures To Help You Get Through December
1 of 8The Foodie Way
News editor Sophie likes to tackle hangovers with food, 'Chicken flavour super noodles (or any other ramen noodle in a square pack) cooked as per the packet instructions but with a bit of crunchy peanut butter and soy sauce and sriracha sauce put in. Sometimes I step it up and put in rice wine vinegar and chillies and maybe some mushrooms and greens but mostly It’s noodles and peanut butter. It coagulates into a ball then you eat it.'
2 of 8The Supermarket Sweep
According to editorial assistant Chemmie, Sainsbury's is the way forward, 'Thanks to my uni days and the allure of Sainsbury's Local just across the road, their meal deal became my hangover go-to. Ham hock sandwich, full fat Coke and Sensations Thai Sweet Chilli is your (my) man.'
3 of 8Get Zesty
Culture editor Jess swears by self-loathing and showers, 'I roll around in bed reading Twitter until I become so disgusted by how late in the day it is that I’m forced to get up and get in the shower. Original Source lemon shower gel erases any of those gross memories of kebabs or fags and turning the temperature right down at the end gives you the shock/self-loathing punishment you need to go about the rest of your day.'
4 of 8The Conventional Route
Creative editor Anna sticks to tried and tested methods, 'My foolproof method is to start the day by taking two ibuprofen, which is an antiinflammatory so soothes a headache way better than paracetamol. I wash this down with pint of water, full fat coke & coconut water (sorry but it works!).'
5 of 8Fishy Business
Natalia our picture assistant, swears by nostalgia telly and erm, fish. 'I watch back to back Friends and OC episodes. I like to eat tuna out of a tin when doing so.'
6 of 8Multi-tasking
Emma our social media editor has a number of tricks up her sleeve; 'A Lucozade! Or a Ribena with lots of sugar. Also eating my body weight in bread and actually…having another cold beer for lunch. Plus, I hate to be "that person" but actually bikram yoga has worked wonders before, sweating it all out etc.'
7 of 8The Classy Cure
Deputy editor Lena keeps things upmarket, 'At risk of sounding like a bit of a posh twat but San Pellegrino sparkling water is a winner. Scientifically it has the highest concentration of salt and thus is most satisfying on a hangover. And have now persuaded myself it's the only thing that works to justify the spend over normal soda water. In real dire times a 'Red Ambulance' aka full fat coke is bought instead.'
8 of 8Hair Of The Dog
Staff Writer Stevie goes in hard. 'Cheese, egg and bread based things throughout the day are essential; paninis, sandwiches, the lot. Then at about 4PM, a large glass of white wine mixed with soda water should sort you right out.'
A group of people who would be interested in these less crunchy crisps are misophonics aka people who hate specific sounds, and have bad reactions to them.
Very little research had been done in to misophonia until a 2017 study.
Scientists now believe that the intense eruption of anger misophonics experience is caused by a brain abnormality.
Their brains are hardwired to produce an excessive emotional response to sounds like chewing, munching, and breathing that non-sufferers simply don’t get.
In the study cientists scanned the brains of 20 misophonic volunteers and 22 people without the condition. Each participant listened to a range of noises, including trigger noises and neutral or unpleasant sounds. Both groups reacted to the neutral and unpleasant sounds in similar way. However, when the trigger sounds were played, the misophonics’ heart rates increased.
The scans also revealed that they experienced heightened activity in the part of the brain which determines what we pay attention to. There were also abnormally high levels of connectivity to areas that are involved in emotion regulating.
These new less crunchy Doritos could be a dream come true for misophonics, but smell distinctly like yet another marketing ploy.
Follow Phoebe on Twitter @PhoebeParke
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This article originally appeared on The Debrief.