Pepsi’s Sweet Room concept captivates Gen Z with innovation

Pepsi’s Sweet Room concept has become a standout example of how brands can engage Gen Z through bold creativity and innovation. Designed as an immersive, youth-focused experience, the Sweet Room blends vibrant design, interactive elements, and cultural relevance to capture young consumers’ attention. By aligning with Gen Z’s love for unique, shareable moments, Pepsi successfully strengthens its brand connection, showcases its forward-thinking approach, and sets a new benchmark for modern, experiential marketing.

Pepsi’s SweeTest campaign struck gold at The Drum Awards for its breakthrough creative use of AI, turning flavour testing into an experience that framed Pepsi’s new variants as irresistible sweet indulgences, perfectly in sync with Gen Z tastes and driving impressive sales momentum.

A few years ago, the soft drink aisle had only a handful of major contenders, with Pepsi firmly in the race. Today, an explosion of new beverage brands has crowded the category, putting Pepsi at risk of fading from the minds of younger consumers craving fun, novelty, and flavour, not another standard cola.

With Gen Z shaping the future of the drinks market, reconnecting with them became essential.

On the product front, young buyers are gravitating towards drinks that offer bold, exciting flavours and satisfy their desire for guilt-free “sweet treat” moments. Pepsi’s Strawberries ‘N’ Cream and Cream Soda were created as delicious zero-sugar options that hit this sweet spot, enticing curious newcomers to rediscover the brand.

From a strategic lens, Pepsi chose to highlight one clear message: these flavours deliver pure, satisfying sweetness—an open invitation to anyone craving a treat.

In culture, the idea of “sweetness” had evolved. No longer tied to delicate or overly feminine aesthetics, sweetness had become inclusive, expressive, and delightfully quirky. The rise of Jellycat plush toys among young adults was proof that playfully cute had gone mainstream.

This shift opened the door for Pepsi to reimagine sweetness in a bold, modern, and highly appealing way. The strategy focused on introducing Pepsi’s new flavours as the ultimate guilt-free sweet indulgence, presented in a surprising, cutting-edge format. This led to the creation of the Pepsi SweeTest, the world’s first AI-powered “sweetness test,” designed to measure both the literal and emotional sweetness of the two flavours by comparing them to unexpected cultural objects.

Using advanced models, image analysis, and machine learning, the system evaluated objects based on colour, texture, perceived cuteness, traditional sweetness, and even the emotional warmth they evoke. The engine integrated five AI models and two vision algorithms, guided by insights from a “Cute Studies” white paper, an emerging academic field exploring what people consider cute and why it influences us.

The new flavours were then “tested” against wildly unexpected objects, from a pickle tattoo to a heart-shaped potato to an affectionate text from Grandma, turning these quirky comparisons into playful, hyper-modern content for Gen Z across outdoor, digital, film, and social platforms.

This approach repositioned Pepsi’s flavours as delightful sweet treats, served with an unexpected twist that spoke directly to Gen Z culture. To bring the magic to life, Pepsi launched the Sweet Room, an immersive pop-up inspired by both flavours. Inside, visitors watched the AI in action, discovered their personal sweetness score, played in a candy-themed arcade, and enjoyed zero-sugar samples at a dessert-style tasting bar.

The UK launch exceeded every projection, Pepsi hit its highest household penetration in five years, gained market share, and reached nearly every consumer aged 18–34, scoring an incredible 141x appeal among Gen Z. The campaign generated £14 million in incremental sales, with a third of buyers trying Pepsi for the first time. Brand love soared, with consideration jumping far above industry averages, and online chatter surpassed Coca-Cola’s by 40%.

More than 4,500 visitors experienced the Sweet Room in just four days, with overwhelming satisfaction. Altogether, the campaign proved that when innovation meets cultural insight, brands can spark explosive growth and forge genuine connections with the next generation of consumers.

For questions or comments write to contactus@bostonbrandmedia.com

Source: thedrum‍