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Curated by: Michael Girdley (121 videos)
Sponsored by Bedrock Quality of Earnings — a firm that audits a seller's books before you buy a business so there are no surprises after close. Big Four-backed leadership, AI-powered process. Book a call at https://links.girdley.com/bedrock Doritos built a $4 billion brand by inventing an entire food category. Then PepsiCo squeezed it for every dollar — and broke it. This is the full rise and fall. Get the 2-minute cheat sheet for this video → https://girdley.com/youtube 👇 SUBSCRIBE for more business breakdowns https://www.youtube.com/@Michael-Girdley?sub_confirmation=1 ------------------------------------------------------------------ ► Get my weekly letter to business owners: essential insights to run, grow, and stay ahead in your business → https://links.girdley.com/newsletter-yt ► For sponsorships or inquiries please reach out to: Contact@girdley.com ► Do you have a hat I should wear in a video? Send it to us: Contact@girdley.com ► Free events on all things small business: https://links.girdley.com/lectures-yt ► Deep dives on businesses for sale: https://www.youtube.com/@AcquisitionsAnonymousPodcast ► Follow me on Twitter/X: https://x.com/girdley ------------------------------------------------------------------ Doritos started in 1964 at a Disneyland kitchen that was throwing away stale tortilla chips every day. A supplier pitched refrying and selling them. Frito-Lay exec Arch West saw a category, not a gimmick — and by 1966 Doritos were on shelves nationwide. Nacho Cheese followed in 1972. The Doritos Locos Taco hit $1 billion in sales within 18 months of launch. By the early 2010s, Doritos was the undisputed #1 chip brand in America. Then PepsiCo turned Frito-Lay into a cash extraction machine. Seven straight quarters of double-digit price increases. The family bag quietly shrank from 9.75 oz to 9.25 oz. Volume fell for five straight quarters while revenue kept climbing — every dollar of growth was price, not demand. Gen Z posted the receipts on TikTok. Store brands got good enough that customers who left didn't come back. By 2024, growth had stalled and PepsiCo had lost over $60 billion in market value. Elliott Management showed up with a $4 billion position. The brand that Arch West built over a lifetime got hollowed out in a decade of quarterly thinking.