A new digital kitchen from PepsiCo has been launched in the United States. Called Pep’s Place, it is designed to encourage consumers to experiment with matching foods with various Pepsi beverages.
Consumers can now visit a dedicated website to select from eight Pepsi drinks and match them with renowned American dishes like cheeseburgers, buffalo wings, Cajun chicken sandwiches, chopped pork sandwiches, spareribs, and chicken Caesar salads. Orders will be filled by major food delivery services Uber Eats, Door Dash and Grub Hub, or by Pepsi itself.
Customers order by first choosing a drink – Pepsi, Diet Pepsi, Pepsi Zero Sugar, Pepsi Real Sugar, Pepsi Wild Cherry, Pepsi Zero Sugar Wild Cherry, Pepsi Mango and Pepsi Zero Sugar Mango. After that, they are prompted with a selection of food items Pepsi believes complements the drink.
Pep’s Place, Where the Cola Comes First (PRNewsfoto/PepsiCo)
“For years we have known that Pepsi is the perfect complement to a variety of foods,” said Todd Kaplan, VP of marketing at Pepsi. “But even though consumers know that food tastes Better With Pepsi, they often still forget to order a beverage with their favourite meals.
“With the launch of Pep’s Place, we have designed a new ‘fast beverage’ restaurant delivery concept that features a menu and experience literally built around the idea of what foods go best with Pepsi, allowing consumers at home to fully optimise their meals,” he said.
Pep’s Place will trade for a month, supported by eight television commercials broadcast nationwide. The company noted that the ads were filmed without “unrealistic, idealistic perfection” of food, instead depicting “the celebration of unapologetic love of foods like juicy, drippy cheeseburgers, topping-heavy hot dogs, and pizzas with the extra-long cheese pull”.
