How AWS and Salesforce Support PepsiCo's AI Strategy
The deployment of AI at PepsiCo is reshaping its entire operational spectrum, aiming to strengthen its competitive edge in the consumer packaged goods industry.
This strategic move is spearheaded by Athina Kanioura, Executive Vice President and Chief Strategy and Transformation Officer at PepsiCo, who says the company's strategy focuses on "four or five big bets," steering clear of dispersed pilot programmes that often lack impact.
This strategic direction allocates resources towards enterprise-wide generative AI capabilities, setting the stage for potential operational transformations.
“People underestimate the importance of investing in the foundation, especially the data foundation, as a prerequisite,” Athina says.
“If we hadn’t done all those changes and the moves, it would now be impossible for us to do agentic [AI].”
CEO Ramon Laguarta acknowledges the company’s data infrastructure was inadequate as recently as 2019.
Amazon and Salesforce powering PepsiCo’s AI backbone
A key component of PepsiCo ’s AI integration involves partnerships with Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Salesforce, which lay the groundwork for the company’s AI systems.
Central to this effort is PepGenX, an internal platform designed as a sandbox where employees can explore generative AI tools.
This platform is seamlessly integrated with Amazon Bedrock, facilitating access to foundational models — expansive AI systems trained on large datasets for a variety of tasks.
Kanioura describes PepGenX as providing employees with "room to play" within a structured framework, fostering AI literacy among PepsiCo’s workforce and enabling them to grasp the practical utility of the technology.
Furthermore, through its collaboration with Salesforce, PepsiCo deploys Agentforce, an AI-centric system automating business processes.
This technology efficiently assimilates into PepsiCo’s extensive global sales operations, serving more than five million retail locations worldwide.
The Agentforce implementation synthesises real-time data from warehouses, retailer point-of-sale systems, and consumer behaviour trends.
Sales representatives receive AI-generated insights that analyse variables including regional demand, competitor pricing, local events and weather patterns to suggest localised promotions and stock orders.
Manufacturing precision through machine learning
Within its manufacturing units, PepsiCo applies AI to ensure product quality and enhance operational efficiency.
At Frito-Lay factories, AI models scan items on production lines, making real-time adjustments regarding temperature, shape and consistency.
Such advancements have allowed some facilities to function for a full year with no unexpected equipment failures.
Additionally, predictive maintenance algorithms assess machinery data, transitioning the focus from reactive repairs to scheduled services.
AI-powered vision systems further optimise operations by evaluating attributes of potatoes such as weight and peel percentage, leading to savings of approximately US$307,200 per production line.
In smarter factories, AI-powered sensors and automation have successfully cut energy use by 20% and water consumption by 30%, respectively.
Accelerating research and development
PepsiCo has remarkably condensed its product development timeline from six to nine months to just six weeks by integrating Gen AI into its product lifecycle management process.
The PepGenX platform facilitates the management of both structured and unstructured data associated with formulas, recipes and launch deadlines.
AI models swiftly analyse consumer feedback, market dynamics and ingredient interactions to accelerate food science innovation.This technology evaluates ingredient combinations to reformulate existing products, achieving healthier options like reduced salt and fat in Lay’s crisps while maintaining their taste and quality.
These innovations allow PepsiCo to swiftly respond to evolving consumer preferences and secure market positions well ahead of its competitors.
Enhancing consumer engagement through personalisation
PepsiCo leverages AI to personalise consumer engagement effectively.
For instance, the "Lay’s Messi Messages" campaign used AI to map Lionel Messi’s facial impressions, creating more than four million unique personalised video messages in 10 languages.
As part of the AI integration, Gatorade, a PepsiCo brand, is developing AI-driven hydration coaching tools named Anna.
This virtual assistant, trained using data from the Gatorade Sports Science Institute, provides personalized hydration advice, with pilot programs expected around late 2024 or early 2025.
Additionally, PepsiCo's "Smart Can" is a connected device equipped with digital screens, motion and sound technology, conceived as an interactive gateway to personalised experiences.
Autonomous "Snackbots" on university campuses provide a mobile app-driven snack delivery service.
These interactions collect data on consumer preferences and behaviours, feeding into PepsiCo’s unified data cloud to refine demand forecasts, guide product innovation, and tailor future marketing strategies.
“Much more aggressive,” Ramon says of the company’s current data and AI strategy compared to previous years.
