ESG Topics A-Z
Open innovation
To PepsiCo:
Our Open Innovation platform helps us to identify and explore novel technologies, business models and partnerships that have the potential to increase the sustainability, efficiency and health of our beverages and convenient foods portfolio.
To the World:
PepsiCo’s Open Innovation platform grants opportunities to smaller-scale partners and vendors to collaborate with PepsiCo. New innovations, brought by out-of-the-box thinkers, can help disrupt entrenched systems and solve significant problems. Together with PepsiCo’s scale, these promising partnerships and solutions can help to build a more sustainable food system and fundamentally change the way the world produces, distributes, consumes and disposes of foods and beverages.
Approach
PepsiCo’s External Innovation (XI) team, part of the company’s Research and Development (R&D) organization, actively scouts, identifies and develops strategic partnerships with external collaborators. Our goal is to locate key external insights, business models, technical unlocks and new capabilities that, when partnered with our robust R&D expertise, will yield disruptive innovation in our core products and our value chain.
We are currently exploring novel technologies that have the potential to dramatically impact our beverages and convenient foods portfolio. We are interested in improving all facets of our value chain—from raw material inputs all the way to the consumer experience—and identifying global efficiencies in areas including crop science, protein and functional ingredients, processing, packaging, sustainability and agriculture, digitization, equipment, distribution, retail and e-commerce. Some examples of partnerships forged from XI include:
- Our partnership with Aquacycl, a technology startup, is supporting our efforts to reduce and better manage wastewater emissions at our beverage plants. Together with Aquacycl, we are using natural bacteria to treat wastewater. Aquacycl’s microbial fuel cell technology uses natural bacteria to mitigate undesirable compounds in wastewater and naturally clean it.
- Our membership in the NaturALL Bottle Alliance, a research consortium started in 2017 to develop bio-based packaging made with 100% sustainable and renewable resources. By using biomass feedstocks, such as previously used cardboard and sawdust, the packaging does not divert resources or land from food production for human or animal consumption and reduces the packaging carbon footprint. The goal of bringing together the expertise and resources of major industry players is to make 100% renewable and recyclable PET (polyethylene terephthalate) plastic at commercial scale a reality.
- In collaboration with ImpacX, PepsiCo introduced the Gatorade Smart Gx Bottle in 2022, whose patented smart cap technology transforms our squeezable, reusable bottles into digital devices that track and collect hydration data for the user. When paired with the accompanying Gx app, the technology issues recommended beverage intake based on the user’s profile and physical activity.
PepsiCo’s Open Innovation portal allows potential partners to submit proposals for novel technology solutions against current needs presented by our R&D teams. To view PepsiCo's current needs, please refer to the Open Innovation portal.
Related topics
Agriculture, Climate change, Nutrition, Packaging, Renewable energy, Saturated fat, Sodium, Sugar, Supplier diversity, Sustainable sourcing, Trans fat, Waste, Water