Dive Brief:
- The latest battle in the soda wars involves fountain dispensers -- those pour-it-yourself machines found in fast-food restaurants, cafeterias, movie theaters, and other foodservice locations.
- Pepsi debuted its Spire system, a colorful, touch-screen-based system, the smallest of which resembles an iPad, at the National Restaurant Association Show on Saturday.
- Pepsi's move comes in response to Coke's Freestyle, the mix-and-blend-different-sodas fountain machine that shook up the industry when it debuted a few years ago. And Coke has responded to Spire by promoting its new, smaller versions of the Freestyle.
Dive Insight:
With all this talk about revitalizing the soda-fountain segment, we have to wonder if there's room now for a return of the ultimate in summer jobs -- the soda jerk.
In the meantime, it's worth noting that while the fountain battle rages, a new front has opened in the cola wars surrounding the run-up to the World Cup. This one involves new, modern takes on another old and tired war horse -- the vending machine.