Airport Experience® News - Food & Beverage Issue 2025

we now offer over 165 beverage SKUs in the terminals, with new options regularly introduced,” she says. “Interestingly, soda ranks fourth in popularity – behind bottled water, premium water, and juice, with sports drinks close behind. Beverages like Celsius Energy, which didn’t exist at the time of the agreement’s inception, have since seen dramatic growth of 38 percent year-over year last year.” Beyond selection, PepsiCo’s investments in a range of activations at PHL, such as celebrity appearances, free product samplings, branded lounges and charitable event support, help enrich the passenger experience, Sullivan says. “The experiential programming is where things get really interesting,” Enliven’s Neisen says. “We’ve helped create branded pop-ups offering free samples, seasonal flavors or interactive elements that create real moments of delight in the terminal. When those activations are supported by advertising, point-of-sale promotions and digital campaigns, the experience becomes bigger than the sum of its parts. Instead of a one-off effort tucked away in a single store, passengers see something unified: they notice it in terminal signage, they interact with it at a retail location, and they might even receive a social media prompt or incentive, all tied to a single, memorable campaign. It adds energy to the terminal and gives people something to talk about.” In addition to the LIFEWTR Lounge and the Holiday Oasis Lounge at PHL, PepsiCo has supported a veterans appreciation campaign at Raleigh– Durham International Airport (RDU), which has had a 10-year deal with the beverage company since 2020. At DCA, PepsiCo opened the Pepsi Lounge and also hosts activations in partnership with the Washington Commanders. “Each of these examples shows how pouring rights can move from being just a contract to becoming a strategic tool for brand building, passenger engagement and long term revenue growth,” Neisen says.

Both Garcia and Sullivan appreciate that their beverage partnerships go above and beyond to support their airports. “We experience a true partnership with our beverage provider – they have a shared interest in our airport community that extends beyond selling drinks,” Garcia says. “They sponsor our community events, such as the Plane Pull, Dulles 5K/10K Run on the Runway, Police Week, Wings for All and others. When tragedy occurred in January 2025, our beverage partner contacted me immediately offering generous support to first responders.” She adds that PepsiCo also promotes green initiatives that support MWAA’s sustainability goals. “With our deal we weren’t just looking for a vendor – we were seeking a true strategic partner that would help elevate our concessions program and serve the broader needs of the airport community. PepsiCo

understood our vision and was aligned on all fronts,” Sullivan says. “They’ve leaned into our priorities in meaningful ways. When we aimed to amplify our local arts program, they created and funded a LifeWTR Lounge that featured underrepresented local artists. When we wanted to activate an underutilized area of the terminal, they stepped in to build a Holiday Oasis Lounge at no cost to the airport. For PHL, this agreement has become more than a revenue source, it’s a foundational tool for collaboration, innovation and long-term value creation.” Positives For Passengers? Sullivan adds that the airport’s pouring rights agreement has been beneficial for passengers as well. “Passenger choice and satisfaction have increased significantly –

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AX NEWS JULY/AUGUST 2025