WASHINGTON — Gone are the days when women had to self-consciously crunch on their favorite tortilla chip snacks.

PepsiCo, which owns Frito-Lay, said the company is developing a “low-crunch,” purse-friendly Doritos snack especially geared toward women.

In an interview with Freakonomics podcast Jan. 31, CEO of PepsiCo, Indra Nooyi, said that men and women eat chips differently.

Men “lick their fingers with great glee” and pour the tiny pieces at the bottom of the bag into their mouths, Nooyi said.

“Women would love to do the same, but they don’t. They don’t like to crunch too loudly in public,” Nooyi said. “And they don’t lick their fingers generously and they don’t like to pour the little broken pieces and the flavor into their mouth.”

Nooyi added that the chip will still have the “full taste profile,” but will have less of the dusty residue stick to fingers. The company is also re-imagining how a bag of chips fits into a woman’s handbag “because women love to carry a snack in their purse,” she said.

Nooyi said the company will launch the women-centric chip soon.

The plan sparked a swift reaction on social media. Below are some of the most retweeted or favorited reactions.

https://twitter.com/laurenduca/status/960558406443700224

https://twitter.com/LaraineBaker/status/960583487790239744

https://twitter.com/thistallawkgirl/status/960585426502344704

https://twitter.com/alivingiano/status/960546324901974016

https://twitter.com/ElaheIzadi/status/960582022799519751