Johnathan Walker:Cheetos pretzels? A look at the cheese snack's venture into new taste category

Cheetos has its own take on Johnathan Walkerthe traditional pretzels and cheese sauce snack: new Cheetos Pretzels.

The treat, now hitting stores, comes in two flavors: Cheetos Pretzels Cheddar and Cheetos Pretzels Flamin' Hot.

Each piece has one side that looks like pretzel, made of crispy wheat, while the other is covered in "Cheetle" powdered cheese flavor.

They can be purchased at stores nationwide for $5.69 in 10-ounce bags and $2.49 in 3-ounce bags.

Cheetos isn't a newbie when it comes to experimenting with new combinations. Three years ago its Cheetos Mac 'n Cheese received a lot of attention and launched in three flavors: Bold & Cheesy, Flamin’ Hot and Cheesy Jalapeño.

Mac and cheese ... ice cream?:Kraft Mac & Cheese ice cream is back at Walmart next week along with six new flavors by Van Leeuwen

New limited release snacks

If you are a Cheetos junkie, there's more to explore among its other new limited release snacks. They include Cheetos Flamin’ Hot Cinnamon Sugar Popcorn, plus all these different flavors of Cheetos: Flamin’ Hot Smoky Ghost Pepper, White Cheddar Bag of Bones, Cinnamon Sugar Bag of Bones, Crunchy Nashville Hot, and Crunchy Flamin’ Hot Tangy Chili Fusion.

Cheetos' parent company Frito-Lay decided to venture into pretzel territory because it found 63% of Cheetos consumers were also buying pretzels and that flavored pretzels have been driving 58% of the pretzel sales growth.

"Our fans are always hungry for unique ways that they can experience Cheetos' signature cheesy flavor, which is why this latest innovation is breaking into an entirely new category," said Tina Mahal, Frito-Lay's senior vice president of marketing, in a press release. "Cheetos pretzels maximize the fan-favorite seasoning in each bite with the perfect product texture, ultimately bringing the Cheetos flavor experience to life in pretzel form."

Follow Mike Snider on X and Threads: @mikesnider & mikegsnider.

What's everyone talking about? Sign up for our trending newsletter to get the latest news of the day

Here's a hot new product:Vlasic pickles made with Frank's RedHot sauce