Former Yum! Brands CEO David Novak describes the commercial scale and profitability of Cool Ranch Doritos, a product he helped conceptualize while working with Frito-Lay.
“It's one of the most profitable, largest snacks in the grocery aisle.”
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More from David Novak
Insight
Business leaders should rarely speak out publicly on political issues
“Well, first of all, very rarely. You know, my belief is that leaders should focus on running their business best they can and make that their primary accountability.”
David NovakSep 12, 2024▶ 20:00From Crystal Pepsi to Cool Ranch Doritos: Lessons from Yum! Brands founder David Novak
What-if
Novak says Crystal Pepsi would still be a hit today
“I think that product would have been a huge hit and it would still be on the marketplace, but it didn't last very long.”
David NovakSep 12, 2024▶ 0:52From Crystal Pepsi to Cool Ranch Doritos: Lessons from Yum! Brands founder David Novak
Insight
New product launches rarely recover from poor execution after three months
“And once you miss on execution on a new product, it's really hard to get it back because those first three months are everything.”
David NovakSep 12, 2024▶ 8:43From Crystal Pepsi to Cool Ranch Doritos: Lessons from Yum! Brands founder David Novak
Insight
Leaders must publicly celebrate failed risks on important company initiatives
“Well, I think, first of all, when people are working on things that are really important to the company, and they're taking that risk, and it doesn't work out, you know, you scream from the rooftops that that's the kind of breakthrough thinking that we need, s…”
David NovakSep 12, 2024▶ 9:26From Crystal Pepsi to Cool Ranch Doritos: Lessons from Yum! Brands founder David Novak
Insight
Cross-category pattern thinking drives breakthrough innovation without starting from scratch
“And I think when you can, you know, look at two seemingly different things and then say, Hey, how could it possibly unite in whatever I'm working on? I think that's when you can really come up with big ideas. It's that pattern thinking that I think really allo…”
David NovakSep 12, 2024▶ 15:46From Crystal Pepsi to Cool Ranch Doritos: Lessons from Yum! Brands founder David Novak
Disclosure
Crystal Pepsi failed because its creators skipped testing out of blind love
“Just so like, let's go back to crystal Pepsi, for example, you know, we really didn't put that into enough testing. You know, we didn't give it time to really, you know, we had our blinders on, we were so in love with the idea.”
David NovakSep 12, 2024▶ 17:38From Crystal Pepsi to Cool Ranch Doritos: Lessons from Yum! Brands founder David Novak
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