# PepsiCo and Coca-Cola add QR codes to cans as private label claims 25% of US grocery units

*National beverage brands turn packaging into direct-engagement layer while store brands take a quarter of unit sales.*

By **Jenny Huang Goodman MPA MSc MHSA, Principal** — The Stash Edge, Hako Shikin LLC.
Published 2026-08-20.

Canonical: https://www.pops4.com/stash/articles/pepsico-coca-cola-keurig-dr-pepper-private-label-displacement-trend-2026-08-20t0
Subject: PepsiCo, Coca-Cola, Keurig Dr Pepper (private-label displacement trend)
Tags: packaging, qr code, private label, direct engagement, retention, cpg

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Private-label brands held nearly **25% of US grocery unit sales** in the first half of 2026, according to Food Navigator, forcing national beverage giants to treat the package itself as a defense mechanism. PepsiCo, Coca-Cola, and Keurig Dr Pepper responded by embedding QR codes on cans and bottles, converting passive packaging into a direct channel for loyalty programs, recipe content, and first-party data capture.

The move acknowledges a structural shift. Store brands no longer compete on price alone—they now match quality benchmarks while offering retailers **30-40% higher margins** than national equivalents. In beverage, where the product inside a can of store-brand cola is often contract-manufactured by the same facilities supplying name brands, differentiation collapses to the label and the post-purchase relationship. The QR code restores a connection the shelf cannot provide.

The mechanism works because it bypasses the retailer's data moat. A shopper who scans a code on a Pepsi can enters the brand's ecosystem directly—registering for sweepstakes, accessing mixology videos, or enrolling in a points program that tracks purchases across channels. The brand captures zero-party data (preferences declared by the user) and can retarget without relying on the grocer's customer file. Coca-Cola has used similar codes to drive app downloads and tie physical purchases to digital rewards, creating switching costs that a generic label cannot replicate.

For a small physical-product brand facing its own private-label pressure, the play scales down cleanly. Print a QR code on your packaging that links to a landing page offering one high-value piece of content—a how-to guide, a recipe collection, a founder story video—in exchange for an email address. Use a free tool like Bitly or QR Code Generator to create the code and track scans. Route the landing page through a simple form builder (Typeform, Google Forms, or your Shopify checkout) that feeds into your email list. Cost: zero if you already print labels, or under **$50** for a batch of stickers if you retrofit existing stock.

The next step determines return. Once you capture the email, send a three-message sequence over 10 days: message one thanks them and delivers the promised content, message two shares a customer story or use case, message three offers a repeat-purchase discount or a referral incentive. The goal is to move the relationship off the package and into a channel you control, so that the next purchase decision happens in an inbox rather than in a grocery aisle where the store brand sits two inches to the left. Track scan rate and conversion rate, then test variations of the offer—early access, a product sample, a chance to vote on the next SKU—to find what pulls hardest for your category.

The broader pattern is that the package is no longer just a container. When store brands look identical and cost **20-30%** less, the only sustainable moat is the relationship you build after the sale. QR codes are the lowest-friction on-ramp to that relationship, and every national brand now treats the label as the first pixel in a retention funnel.

## The takeaway

QR codes on packaging turn a one-time sale into an owned channel, bypassing the retailer's customer file and creating switching costs against private label.

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## Publisher

**Hako Shikin LLC** — Virginia Beach, Virginia. Founded 1997. ASI 217876 · DUNS 18-204-6339.
Principal and author: **Jenny Huang Goodman MPA MSc MHSA**.

- Author: https://www.huanggoodman.com/about
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