We tried it. My family assembled at the house this past weekend to sample one of the oddest examples of social media targeted collaboration we’ve seen. I’m talking about Empirical’s Doritos Vodka.

This is the nacho cheese flavored spirit that made the rounds of lifestyle publications, blogs, and social media feeds last December. We took the bait and bought a bottle. All in, the $65 vodka cost us $81.50 for 750-ml after fees and taxes. It arrived in March.

You likely didn’t get a bottle yourself unless you acted fast — the limited run sold out immediately. After all, this bit of laboratory fun by an avant-garde Danish distillery was taken to the masses by PepsiCo’s Frito-Lay to generate free media attention and TikTok level excitement. Guilty as charged.

The first thing I can say is that Doritos Vodka absolutely tastes like Doritos nacho cheese. Empirical describes the flavor as “nacho cheese, corn tostada, umami, hint of acidity.” No disagreement here.

I am not a...

Have you heard about “crispy” Diet Coke? I dismissed this TikTok driven trend until my daughter mentioned it the other day.

As readers of this newsletter know, my adult son and daughter, ages 27 and 22, are an important window for me. What I see and hear from them has been valuable to my understanding of how young consumers digest media and consider brands. My kids and their friends are an antidote to the skepticism that can infect a 53-year-old brain.

It turns out my daughter and her friends are fans of “crispy” Diet Coke. And there is ritual around the drink. First, a Diet Coke goes into the freezer to get near the tipping point to ice. Next, ice is added to a reusable cup. On top of the ice goes a sachet of True Lime, which is a crystallized Lime powder (that I hadn’t heard of). The near-frozen Diet Coke is then poured over the ice and lime powder, creating the desired “crispy” effect. As my daughter explains: “It’s cold, carbonated, and super refreshing. Lime makes it even more crispy.” So young people do drink Diet Coke?

That wasn’t all she surprised me with. I’ve often...

As previously reported by BD, Gatorade Water is now available nationally in the US. The alkaline bottled water is the brand’s first unflavored water. To mark the occasion, PepsiCo rented ...