PepsiCo's Bubly Fountain And Vending Machine Are Getting Attention

Anne Fink, president, Global Foodservice, was interviewed by Bloomberg about PepsiCo’s expansion with bubly Fountain and Vending. PepsiCo is now using bubly on branded vending machines to capitalize on the success of its sparkling water brand.  

Water continues to be a clear winner today. According to Beverage Marketing, in 2016 bottled water overtook soda as the #1 beverage sold in the U.S.  And, as overall demand continues to grow, consumers also continue to look for more specialized and personalized hydration options, especially when they are on-the-go.Consumers make more than 200 visits to foodservice establishments each year; they visit a foodservice location even more frequently than they visit the grocery store. 

To meet this demand, PepsiCo is developing a broad spectrum of water and hydration solutions designed to meet the growing consumer demand for flavored and sparkling water across multiple channels. In the first half of 2018, they successfully launched several innovations within the hydration space in the U.S., including bubly, a test of Aquafina Water Station and Drinkfinity. Building upon initial success, each of these brands and platforms will continue to go beyond the bottle and expand through new channels to meet the continual growing consumer demand for flavored and sparkling water.

Earlier this year, PepsiCo Foodservice launched bubly, a new sparkling water that combines refreshing and delicious flavors with an upbeat and playful sense of humor to shake up the sparkling water category while keeping it real with no artificial flavors, no sweeteners, and no calories. PepsiCo is seeing continued growth in the sparkling water category—in its first year, bubly is expected to reach $100 million in revenue. But, this is just the beginning—consumers already enjoy a wide variety of flavor options for sparkling water while at home and are also seeking the same flavor variety in sparkling water options outside the home. According to a recent survey PepsiCo conducted, they know that 50 percent of bubly consumers are buying two or more flavors per trip. Additionally, the bubly multi-pack on Amazon is the number one best seller in sparkling drinking water.

Tapping into the growing market for sparkling water and delivering on the variety consumers are seeking, PepsiCo Foodservice bubly is the first brand to offer a 100 percent sparkling water vending solution at scale with 150 high school campuses across the country currently operating bubly branded vending machines that dispense only 12 oz. cans of bubly. This provides students with the variety they are used to from this category even when they’re not at home. Students love the fun graphics and are excited to have another option outside of plain water available to them while they are at school. Lime is the most popular flavor, which is consistent with what PepsiCo is seeing in retail.