PepsiCo teams up with Alphabet subsidiary for Super Bowl delivery promo
PepsiCo and Wing will be delivering free game-day snacks to select customers during Super Bowl weekend.
The CPG food and beverage giant and Wing, the on-demand drone delivery provider powered by Google’s parent company Alphabet, will let customers in Frisco, Texas (Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex) order a free “PepsiCo Party Pack” from Saturday, Feb. 8 – Sunday, Feb. 9.
The promotional pack features Doritos chips, Tostitos dips, and Pepsi Zero Sugar soda, in time for Super Bowl kick-off in New Orleans on Feb. 9. This marks PepsiCo’s first foray into drone delivery.
Wing’s automated, all-electric drones can deliver small items and meals in minutes, cruising at approximately 65 mph at a height of about 150 feet. The drone will lower customer orders to the turf for them to unpack.
To participate while supplies last, consumers in Frisco can download the Wing app to check their address eligibility.
"We are proud to collaborate with Wing to deliver the PepsiCo Party Pack in Frisco," said PepsiCo strategic partnerships senior director Amanda DeVoe-Bice. "This is an exciting opportunity to reimagine and demonstrate new ways of showing up to our consumers in a sustainable way, and enjoy their favorite PepsiCo products, without having to miss a moment of the game."
Unilever enables diect-to-consumer delivery via drone
CPG company Unilever, which has deployed a fleet of Robomart on-demand mobile mini-marts to take its virtual direct-to-consumer ice cream storefront, The Ice Cream Shop, on the road, also offers ice cream delivery via drone.
The company partners with end-to-end drone delivery company Flytrex to make Ice Cream Shop drone deliveries across all of Flytrex’s U.S. locations.
[READ MORE: Unilever offers drone delivery for direct-to-consumer ice cream orders]
According to Unilever, drone orders from The Ice Cream Shop will be delivered to front and back yards of local residents with a promised flight time of less than three minutes. Customers can place orders for drone deliveries of ice cream using the Flytrex app, which provides customers with real-time updates along the delivery route until the package is lowered safely by wire into their yard.
Survey reveals DTC importance to CPG companies
Data from a Salesforce study shows that direct-to-consumer channels account for more than 10% of overall revenue for nearly all (99%) of the 91% of 1,500 surveyed CPG companies that have them. Seven-in-10 respondents said their companies have loyalty programs.
And 83% of respondents believe it’s harder than ever to maintain customer loyalty. The top five challenges to fostering customer loyalty were selected as: price sensitivity, innovation, increased competition, personalization, and diminishing brand relevance.
