Doritos vs. Great Value

Doritos is a well-known chip brand that almost every household knows of. But what makes it so popular, so special compared to the generic chip brand of the same flavor? Or maybe the question we should be asking is, is it even special at all? I will compare the mainstream, “popular” brand of nacho cheese chips, Doritos and the same nacho cheese Walmart brand, Great Value. Many factors go into determining what makes a brand of food superior to another, or why it sells so well. Price, packaging, visual appeal, taste, and other factors can be what consumers take into account when making purchasing decisions at the grocery store.

History

Doritos was first invented in 1964 at Disneyland’s casa de Fritos. They were first sold nationally in 1966 and were a huge hit. The idea started from the simple idea to lessen food waste by frying stale tortillas and putting some seasoning on top. I mean the idea was genius, and what started out as a small California experiment caught the eye of Frito-Lay’s president Archie West, who loved the idea so much he helped finance mass production of these delicious chips. Eventually only one flavor became boring, and the company decided they needed something new, so the nacho cheese flavor was invented and sold in 1972, which also gained mainstream popularity. The rest is history and Doritos has been one of the leading chip brands in the U.S and even around the world.

Great Value has a little bit of different story. Originally, they were founded in 1993 by Walmart, a private owned company, with the primary idea to offer Americans off brand alternatives for less money. Originally, they started out with basic produce options, like peanut butter, cola, and chips but now Great Value has reached far beyond that. Today you can find almost anything from food to household supplies for less. They focus on quality and low prices to ensure many Americans a variety of food products. Today at your local Walmart, you can find a bag of their signature nacho cheese tortilla chips, or another flavor of your choosing. The success of the Great Value brand some will argue comes from the idea that they steal other mainstream brand ideas, to make their own knock offs. This could be seen by other companies as a threat to their own business and their continued success, or as competition to prove they are better. Still, we see Walmart selling all brands, often pushing the more popular brand in order to sell overall product not just marketing their own brand. Despite this being the truth for some people, many different brands do the same thing as Kirkland, the Costco brand, or the Good & Gather Target brand. This is viewed very differently for many people and can definitely be heavily weighed when deciding what to purchase.

Prices

In present day America, prices of goods are one of the most important factors that a person will look at when they determine what, and how much of something to buy. Doritos is a well-known brand, which could mean it is a better product, or just simply the demand is high and therefore the price can be set high. Great Value is the Walmart owned brand that sells lots of name brand alternatives for a better price. At Walmart, one 9.25 oz bag of Doritos chips costs $4.48, on coupon $3.97, and the party size is regularly $5.94, on coupon $5.00. A Great Value 9.75 oz bag costs you $2.24. Very clearly, when we compare the standard size bag, Great Value sells a bigger quantity for less. While Doritos is almost double the price when not on coupon. Depending on the audience each company is selling too, the importance of the price can fluctuate becoming more important to some than others.

Branding 

One of the primary factors that separates the Doritos brand from Great Value is the packaging. Going out on a limb, I would say that almost any American can identify the Doritos brand, having spent huge amounts of money on marketing and ads. The effect of this is people’s loyalty to the brand because of how recognizable it is. Great Value is known by some, but not nearly as popular as Doritos which can be traced back to branding. I mean the dark shade of red, the Doritos logo, loud and proud on the front, who could miss it? Compared to the generic coloring of Great Value bags, nothing making it stand out from the hundreds of different chip brands on the shelf. Both brands are packaged in bags, giving them an equal chance of breaking from the ride home or even from the manufacturer to stores across the country. They share the same name, “nacho cheese”, although the Great Value brand has “Tortilla Chips” as the main title. These little details separate the brands and play a huge part in their success.

Doritos Nacho Cheese Is the Best Flavor in Lays Chip Ranking | TIME

Flavor

The number one reason people eat what they do is because of taste. If you find that a certain food tastes great, you will eat more of it. Food companies are well aware of this, and the importance of taste so they spend lots of time getting their recipe down. Doritos has had more time to master their nacho cheese flavor, having been around longer than Great Value, but nevertheless the two chip brand flavors aren’t drastically different. When I first tried both chips side by side, I wasn’t too impressed because of how similar they were but taking a closer look I started to notice little differences. The triangle shape stays the same for both chips. Doritos has less cheese coating compared to the Great value chips. Both chips have the same strong, prominent, mouthwatering nacho cheese flavor, but as you get to the end of the chip they differ in the after taste. Doritos has a stronger, sharper, almost zest cheese flavor that doesn’t last as long compared to Great Value chip, that has a more subtle cheesy flavor, lasting a little longer on your pallet. Nevertheless, unless you’re a chip expert, you wouldn’t be able to tell the difference. One thing I would agree on between both brands is that they are equally addictive and could have you finishing the bag in seconds.

Ingredients

Normally all food products bought in the U.S will have a “Nutrition Facts” label and an “Ingredients List” on the back. Both of these brands are no exception and have both. Again, a huge percent of people considers this information to make the most educated guess on what to buy, so it’s important. According to the nutrition label, the Great Value chips have about 10 servings per bag, with about a 15-chip serving size. Per serving size it contains about 150 calories, with total fat being 7g, sodium 210mg, total carbohydrates at 18g, and protein at 2g. It also contains 40mg of calcium and 0.5mg of Iron. On Doritos nutrition label it gives you 9 servings per bag, with about 11 chips per serving size. Per serving size it contains 150 calories, with total fat being 8g, sodium at 170mg, total carbohydrates at 17g, and protein at 2g. It also contains 50mg of calcium, 0.3mg of iron, and 100mg of potassium. Both brands have similarities between the health benefits and nutrition provided. The ingredients are very similar as well, both including ingredients like sunflower oil, buttermilk, maltodextrin, disodium inosinate, disodium guanylate, onion powder, and artificial flavoring (Yellow 5 and 6, Red 40).

To some people, the ingredients found in the food they consume matter more than others. A handful of the ingredients listed on both bags of chips you might have never heard of, especially yellow 5 and red 40. These are artificial food dyes that have become more concerning as of late, because of their pretty extreme health effects. In the article "Unveiling the Truth: Is Yellow 5 as bad as Red 40?” by Alaric Bledsoe explains that “[t]he use of artificial food colorings has been linked to various health issues, including hyperactivity in children, cancer, and allergic reactions (Bledsoe).” These dyes are in a variety of different food products produced in America, which is why informing consumers of what they are and what they can do is very important. Food plays a major part in your health, and now more than ever people are paying closer attention to this. Both these brands include the artificial dye, which will influence consumers decisions in their own way.

Doritos Nacho Cheese Flavored Tortilla Chips, 10 Oz. - Walmart.com 

               

                   Great Value Nacho Cheese Tortilla Chips

Overall, both these chips meet every expectation you might have when eating a nacho cheese chip, but the minor details will be what stick out to you when you decide what to buy. Either way, I hope I was able to give you some knowledge about both brands of chips and the differences and similarities they have. If you are looking for something that has tradition and history in making nacho cheese chips, a flavorful bag of Doritos might be exactly what you are looking for. If you are wanting convenience, lower cost, and cheesy nacho tortilla chips a bag of Great Value is the perfect fit.






By: Avery Dewey

Works Cited

Admin. “About Us.” Great Value, 23 Mar. 2025, the-greatvalue.com/about-us/.

Bledsoe, Alaric. “Unveiling the Truth: Is Yellow 5 as Bad as Red 40?” PanFlavor, 1 Sept. 2025, panflavor.com/is-yellow-5-as-bad-as-red-40/.

“History.” A History of Doritos (a History Project), historyofdoritos.weebly.com/history.html. Accessed 21 Jan. 2026.