Digital CPG Blog

Pepsi is going to try. They just introduced  a “social” vending machine that lets users buy beverages for friends by delivering a code that can be redeemed at any such machine.

“Our vision is to use innovative technology to empower consumers and create new ways for them to engage with our brands, their social networks and each other at the point of purchase,” said Mikel Durham, chief innovation officer at PepsiCo Foodservice. “Social Vending extends our consumers’ social networks beyond the confines of their own devices and transforms a static, transaction-oriented experience into something fun and exciting they’ll want to return to, again and again.”

Hm… perhaps this would work well in schools, but if I were going to buy something for my friends, I don’t know that I would buy them a pop over offering to grab a coffee. Perhaps not every experience needs to be social?

What do you think – is this going too far or is it the next big thing?