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Pepsi's loyalty program puts cash in your Venmo account
Do you wish soft drink makers would stop using point systems for reward programs and simply give you cold, hard cash? You're about to get your wish... in a manner of speaking. Pepsi is launching a PepCoin loyalty program that rewards you for buying both a single-serve beverage and a Frito-Lay snack by sending money to PayPal and Venmo accounts. If you scan enough codes on bottles and bags, you'll receive a little bit of cash. You'll have to earn $2 before it goes to your account, but this is real spending money -- you can use it to pay your share of last night's pizza.
Pepsi is making a SodaStream-like sparkling water station
Now that Pepsi owns SodaStream, it's trying its hand at a make-your-own-drink station -- though it's not for the company's usual sugar-laden fare. The company has unveiled a water dispenser system that lets you create your own zero-calorie beverage. A touchscreen interface lets you make it as carbonated as you like, choose the flavor (including its strength) and dial in the temperature. You could get a strong, cold raspberry lime drink when you want something punchy, or plain uncarbonated water if you're not feeling adventurous.
'Zero-waste' Loop delivers Coke and Häagen-Dazs in reusable packaging
A lineup of the world's biggest consumer brands are joining a zero-waste online shopping project that delivers items in refillable and reusable containers. Loop -- announced at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland last week -- is an online shopping platform that wants to save customers the hassle of recycling by adopting the age-old model of the milkman.
PepsiCo is using robots to deliver snacks to college students
If walking to a regular vending machine seems too inconvenient, what if the vending machine came to you? PepsiCo is doing just that at the University of Pacific campus in Stockton, California with robots called "snackbots." Using a smartphone app, students can order quasi-healthy snacks like Baked Lays, Sunchips or a Starbucks Cold Brew (from PepsiCo's "Hello Goodness" vending platform), and have it delivered between 9 AM and 5 PM to one of 50 locations around the 175 acre campus.
Pepsi buys SodaStream for a future beyond cola
Traditional soda brands are facing tough times right now, as consumers move away from sugary soft drinks to healthier, low-cal options. Pepsi has already tried to diversify away from its fizzy cola roots with Aquafina water, and more recently, sparkling water brand Bubly -- now it's planning on reaching customers in their homes with the acquisition of at-home carbonated drink-maker SodaStream.
PepsiCo pre-orders 100 Tesla electric semi trucks
Tesla's recently-revealed electric semi truck has taken the shipping world by storm, it seems, with orders for the vehicles coming from Walmart, DHL, Anheuser-Busch, and Canadian grocery chain Loblaws (no relation to Bob). Now PepsiCo tops the list with what CNBC calls the largest pre-order yet: a fleet of 100 electric trucks reserved before production starts in 2019.
Halo 4 players cry out from atop Mt. Dew, 'Where's our double XP?' [Update: Microsoft responds]
The promotional union between Halo 4 and PepsiCo, the latter being proprietor of the vast Doritos and Mountain Dew empires, is drawing ire from the game's community today – not for the delicious blend of accelerated promotion and bold spices, but because it's not working. Players are running into issues getting their bonus experience points.Halo 4 owners must register on a promotional website before applying their codes to the game, but even those who have done so are claiming their double XP rewards as missing in action. Microsoft has yet to respond to the Halo Waypoint forums in which the complaints originate.We've contacted Microsoft to see if this is an acknowledged issue and, if so, what steps are being taken to rectify it. In the meantime, it may behoove you to hold back on the double XP and level up like the common people.Update: A Microsoft spokesperson told Joystiq that the company is aware of the issue and has already resolved it. "Last week we were made aware that some users were not being properly rewarded Double XP, and we promptly addressed the situation. Double XP rewards are now working as intended. There are still a few users that we are currently working to credit their accounts with Double XP games that were lost."[Thanks, Graeme.]
Mountain Dew forms an Alliance with World of WarCraft
Do you miss Mountain Dew Game Fuel? Or are you a WoW player jealous of the attention Pepsico lavished upon Halo players? Perhaps you plan to be really thirsty at some unspecified point in the near future. If any of these conditions describe you, you'll be very happy about this news! This summer, Mountain Dew (which we refuse to call "MTN DEW") is launching two limited-edition World of WarCraft Game Fuel beverages: "Wild Fruit" flavored Alliance Blue, and "Citrus Cherry" flavored Horde Red, which, WoW Insider notes, is the original Halo 3 Game Fuel! The exact release date has yet to be revealed -- we'll have to distract ourselves with regular Mountain Dew, and the thrilling, extreme-sports-filled lifestyle that comes naturally to Dew drinkers, until then.[Via WoW Insider]
PepsiCo to sponsor Guild Wars in China
The cola wars took an interesting turn today, and Chinese online gaming host The9 showed they have flexible loyalties when it comes to carbonated beverages. The Shanghai-based developer successfully partnered with Coca-Cola (and pop group S.H.E.) in 2005 to promote the launch of World of Warcraft, and now PepsiCo wants a piece of China's MMO action.As part of a new marketing agreement, Pepsi and The9 will co-sponsor a national Guild Wars tournament and pimp over 10,000 Internet Cafes using decor based on NCsoft's popular fantasy setting. Cafe chaperones will now have to work twice as hard to keep sticky soft drinks away from the PCs. Beta testing for Guild Wars China begins in two days.
