PepsiCo Loaded Dorito

PepsiCo elevates experiential dining with AI-powered food truck ordering through Lifted

PepsiCo partnered with a Lifted expert to develop an AI-powered ordering system for food trucks, delivering personalized recommendations and driving innovation in customer interactions.

At a glance.

Est. cost savings

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Est. cost savings

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Average Lifted spend for work that would typically cost $100 through a traditional agency

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Average Lifted spend for work that would typically cost $100 through a traditional agency

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Concepts supported: Doritos Loaded and DRIPS

0 QSR

Concepts supported: Doritos Loaded and DRIPS

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Named beverage brands represented through DRIPS: Pepsi, Mountain Dew, Lipton, Starry, and Tropicana

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Named beverage brands represented through DRIPS: Pepsi, Mountain Dew, Lipton, Starry, and Tropicana

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“
Lifted is always my go-to, and they didn’t disappoint: we found a great partner. The launch of the initial prototype went great and impressed a lot of high-up people, and we’re underway with Phase II that will see a larger, more public roll-out and even more fun interactivity.

Lifted is always my go-to, and they didn’t disappoint: we found a great partner. The launch of the initial prototype went great and impressed a lot of high-up people, and we’re underway with Phase II that will see a larger, more public roll-out and even more fun interactivity.

― Design Manager, Digital & Virtual at PepsiCo

Summary

PepsiCo's Brand and CX team set out to make food and beverage offerings more of a mealtime experience at brand activations. The goal was to introduce AI-powered ordering as a way to drive innovation through more personalized, engaging interactions, particularly for Doritos Loaded and DRIPS by Pepsi, and lay the foundation for scalable, AI-driven customer touchpoints.

The challenges

  • Personalized Ordering

    Build an interactive ordering system that delivers real-time recommendations based on user inputs.

  • Brand Alignment

    Ensure the experience matched PepsiCo’s tone, personality, and customer-facing standards.

  • POS Integration

    Support integration with point-of-sale systems for smooth operational use.

  • Multi-Device Compatibility

    Work seamlessly across kiosks, tablets, and mobile devices.

  • Venue Flexibility

    Adapt easily across different venues, event formats, and use cases.

  • Tight Timeline

    Deliver a reliable solution within compressed event production timelines.

"We were looking for a reliable, affordable team with broad skills (web development, application development, and AI knowledge)."

The solution

PepsiCo partnered with a Lead Mobile & AI Developer sourced through Lifted, to lead development of an AI-powered ordering system. With deep expertise in generative AI, UX design, and mobile architecture, the talent delivered a real-time, brand-aligned prototype designed to support Doritos Loaded and DRIPS by Pepsi. The system featured a conversational interface, POS integration, and an admin portal for managing menus, ingredients, and site settings. Lifted enabled PepsiCo to move fast, stay cost-effective, and build a tailored, scalable solution without relying on a large external agency. A version is planned for the first rollout of DRIPS permanent locations later this year.

"The launch of the initial prototype went great and impressed a lot of high-up people, and we’re underway with Phase II that will see a larger, more public roll-out and even more fun interactivity."

The results

  • Launched a live kiosk prototype at a PepsiCo event, showcasing real-time AI personalization.

  • Earned executive buy-in, leading to expanded internal support and investment.

  • Deployed a scalable, brand-customizable kiosk platform used across multiple activations.

  • Reduced cost and delivery time by leveraging Lifted's expert freelance talent over traditional vendors.

Strong technical execution, smart UX, and Lifted's flexible talent model helped reposition PepsiCo's products as part of a more personalized mealtime experience.

Conclusion

PepsiCo’s partnership with Lifted delivered an AI-powered kiosk prototype designed to support personalized ordering across Doritos Loaded and DRIPS at an estimated 50–75% lower cost than a traditional agency model. The team is already using the kiosk in pitch meetings to bring the broader concept to life, and senior marketing stakeholders have responded very positively. With a version planned for the first rollout of permanent DRIPS locations later this year, the work provides an important foundation for PepsiCo’s ambition to develop DRIPS as its first digital-native brand and extend more engaging food and beverage experiences across the portfolio.

While this work was performed when these Enterprise solutions were embedded in Upwork, the same offerings and more are now available through Lifted, an Upwork Company.

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