Tostitos is executing a three-pronged football-season offensive this August: a limited-time Spicy Queso Blanco Flavored Tortilla Chip hitting shelves nationwide, a first-ever refrigerated dip line landing at Kroger and Walmart, and the return of limited-edition NFL Team Bags. The moves signal PepsiCo Foods U.S.'s intent to capture incremental ring across both the salty snacks aisle and the refrigerated perimeter during one of the highest-velocity consumption windows of the year.
The SKU Breakdown
The Spicy Queso Blanco Flavored Tortilla Chips ship to national retail beginning Aug. 9 in an 11-ounce bag. The flavor is positioned as a limited-time offer, layering zesty queso cheese with peppers and spices — a format engineered to drive trial velocity and in-and-out display activity rather than permanent planogram placement. Limited-time flavors in the tortilla chip segment have historically generated outsized scan-data spikes in the first eight weeks of distribution, making them a reliable mechanism for end-cap and floor-stack negotiation heading into Q3.
The more strategically significant move is Tostitos Chunky Guacamole, which marks the brand's entry into the refrigerated dip category — a first for the decades-old chip brand. Available in 8-ounce, 15-ounce, and six-count 2-ounce single-serve sizes, the line launches at Kroger and Walmart nationwide on Aug. 15. The product is Non-GMO Project Verified, vegan, kosher, and gluten-free, attributes that expand its shelf adjacency potential into natural and better-for-you sets. The single-serve format in particular targets the convenience and club-pack adjacency opportunity, as well as on-the-go snacking occasions that the standard refrigerated dip set has historically underdeveloped.
Retail and Category Context
Securing dual-retailer launch coverage across Kroger and Walmart out of the gate gives Tostitos Chunky Guacamole immediate national ACV reach at two of the country's highest-volume grocery operators. For buyers and category managers, the refrigerated guacamole segment has been a consistent growth pocket — positioned between fresh-perimeter produce dips and ambient shelf-stable salsa — and adding a recognizable national brand with Tostitos' existing equity could shift TDP allocation away from smaller regional and private-label competitors.
A PepsiCo-commissioned survey of 1,000 nationally representative consumers found that 74% choose chips and dip while watching football, underscoring the occasion-based merchandising logic behind the simultaneous chip and dip launches. Cross-merchandising the refrigerated Chunky Guacamole with Tostitos Original chips via secondary placement — whether a front-end cooler, deli-adjacent display, or themed gameday end-cap — is a straightforward in-store display play that aligns with how retailers have successfully driven basket size in the snacking category. Retailers that tie both items into a single gameday MCB or TPR event should see lift across both the ambient and refrigerated rings.
"Our new limited-time offering, Spicy Queso Blanco, puts a bold spin on the iconic chips-and-queso pairing," said Denise Truelove, Senior Vice President of Marketing at PepsiCo Foods North America. "Alongside the launch of Tostitos Chunky Guacamole and the return of our NFL Team Bags, we're giving fans even more ways to gather, celebrate gameday traditions and enjoy football season together."
NFL Packaging and Promotions
The returning limited-edition NFL Team Bags — featuring franchises including the Chicago Bears, New York Giants, Philadelphia Eagles, and Seattle Seahawks among others — arrive regionally in August with updated fan-focused graphics. A scan-to-enter sweepstakes runs from Aug. 10 through Dec. 6, 2026, with prizes including gameday experiences and team merchandise. Promotional mechanics tied to in-store displays and participating packaging create an integrated pull-through that supports retailer co-op programs and gives category managers a consumer engagement hook beyond the standard TPR. For more salty snacks category coverage, Grocery CPG has been tracking how NFL-licensed seasonal packaging performs across the mass and grocery channels. The refrigerated dip expansion also connects to broader refrigerated and fresh perimeter trends reshaping how major CPG brands approach cross-aisle growth strategies.
Written by Michael Politz, Author of Guide to Restaurant Success: The Proven Process for Starting Any Restaurant Business From Scratch to Success (ISBN: 978-1-119-66896-1), Founder of Food & Beverage Magazine, the leading online magazine and resource in the industry. Designer of the Bluetooth logo and recognized in Entrepreneur Magazine's "Top 40 Under 40" for founding American Wholesale Floral, Politz is also the Co-founder of the Proof Awards and the CPG Awards and a partner in numerous consumer brands across the food and beverage sector.
