School lunch programs by PepsiCo are expanding nutrition and creating awareness concerning the household brands in several markets. The company is reaching millions of children at the beginning of their day by bringing food to schools and building strong brand identity in the long term.
Scale across key regions
Food for Good creates breakfasts and delivers them to schools, communal centers and households in the U.S. Distribution also goes to the weekend and summer with bundled meals. The model also makes PepsiCo a food and service provider to the education systems.
U.K. Quaker Oats provided over 1.3 million portions of cereal to schools within the previous academic year in the U.K. Now that food insecurity is experienced by 18% of households with children, the program would create brand awareness on a fundamental European market and solve a significant social problem.
South Africa has emerged a big experiment area on breakfast nutrition. The program has increased to close to 34,000 children daily in seven provinces since 2015 as compared to 5,000 children. Bokomo Weet-Bix, White Star Instant Porridge and FutureLife porridge are some of the products that have become part of school menus and it can be seen the way trusted local labels can help with large scale food programs.
Nutrition as a brand positioning
To retailers and suppliers, these initiatives point out the entry of branded products in new moments of consumption. In the U.S. and U.K., Quaker cereals and bars are promoted in schools, a factor that strengthens the initial familiarity with the brand. The collaboration with the government and NGOs in South Africa demonstrates how the local brand portfolios could be used to apply to the community-wide nutrition programs.
PepsiCo emphasizes that the breakfast provision does not only solve hunger, but also enhance performance and attendance. In the case of the industry, it shows how school meals can serve as a means of distribution that can be measured by community results.
Implications for retail
Due to the high food insecurity levels in most of the markets, retailers are pressured to contribute to access programs. PepsiCo school breakfast programs reveal the potential of the corporate-led patterns to expand beyond charity to systematic distribution systems. In the case of supermarkets, the case study supports the essence of matching between the private and branded products and nutrition-oriented programs that influence social impact as well as brand equity in the long term.
The school breakfast programs run by PepsiCo should continue to be a fundamental platform of the company that will connect its brands portfolio with education, health and future consumer interaction.
