Pepsi has just launched a self-service soda machine capable of making more than 1,000 beverages. This was revealed at the National Restaurant Association show in Chicago. Strom of the NewYork Times reported that the new machine, Spire, was created to compete with Coca-Cola’s Freestyle machine. It has the appearance of a large tablet or iPhone, and lets customers use a touchscreen to select flavors. The Spire is considerably smaller than the original Freestyle. Coke has recently released a smaller version after businesses complained, according to Strom.
“Food service is a growth area for Pepsico,” CEO Indra Nooyi said in an interview with CNBC at the National Restaurant Association trade show in Chicago. The goal for Pepsi is to expand its business with restaurants, movie theaters and other food-service locations by grabbing market share. To do this, Pepsi will be going head-to-head with Coca-Cola’s Freestyle machine, which has been out for four years, and according to the Atlanta beverage giant, has 20,000 machines in the market. Spire’s versatility also extends to diet beverages, despite the fact that diet sales and volumes have been declining at a sharper rate lately than regular soft drinks.
Soda fountains in pharmacies and apothecaries, where this all started, were points of engagement where an amazing amount of creativity and innovation took place at the hands of the soda jerk,” said Brad Jakeman, president of PepsiCo’s global beverages group. “But somewhere along the line, what was an experience has turned into a transaction, and that’s got to change.”
