PepsiCo plans to expand its plant-based offerings to drive growth by meeting consumer demand for functional ingredients that also shrink a product's environmental footprint, said Rene Lammers, chief science officer. "Ultimately, we want to make this a much bigger play for us," said Lammers.
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The success of the plant-based dairy category requires a mindset shift from "replacement" to "better than," said Rene Lammers, executive vice president and chief science officer for PepsiCo. For plant-based cheeses specifically, the ability to scale emerging technologies that help overcome taste and texture challenges is key to growth, said Takoua Debeche, chief research and innovation officer for Danone North America.
PepsiCo has "relied heavily" on technologies that enable virtual consumer feedback during its launch of morning energy drink Mtn Dew Rise this year, said Paul Sheridan, senior director of global research and development for sparkling, energy and foodservice. PepsiCo's marketing Insights Team has also supported research and development by understanding "how the consumers are evolving" during the pandemic, said Danielle Barbaro, vice president of research and development for PepsiCo North America Beverages.
Consumers are thinking more deeply about products and usage during the pandemic and connecting with brand campaigns continuously, a significant departure from the pre-pandemic model, said Benjamin Spiegel, global chief digital officer for Procter & Gamble's beauty division. "The time[s] of day where people make decisions [and] consume content have definitely changed," added Spiegel.
The pandemic has accelerated Kellogg's use of artificial intelligence to improve product development and team coordination across the globe, said CEO Steve Cahillane. For example, AI technology enabled Kellogg engineers to virtually assist with a new Pringles line installment at a plant in Poland in nearly half the time the project would have taken pre-pandemic, added Cahillane.
PepsiCo has partnered with Corteva Agriscience to lead research resulting in the first sequencing of the full oat genome. The results will possibly lead to heartier, more sustainable oat varieties for PepsiCo's Quaker brand and will be shared publicly "to advance the science of oat breeding and ultimately improve food and nutrition security and farmer livelihoods worldwide," said Rene Lammers, PepsiCo's chief science officer.