Veryfi’s technology has helped us be much more precise in recognizing purchases of our products and gain insights to launch more relevant promotional campaigns that deliver greater value to our consumers.Carmelo Balasnoa – Manager – PepsiCo
Challenge: Processing bottle cap codes and packaging strips at national scale
Solution: Veryfi Lens SDK, Browser integration, and WhatsApp OCR API
Result: Real-time code validation across Mexico’s most popular consumer channels
1. Executive Summary
In July 2025, PepsiCo Mexico launched La Pareja Perfecta (“The Perfect Pair”), a nationwide promotion celebrating Doritos and Pepsi. Consumers were invited to collect promotional codes from bottle caps and snack strips, combine them, and win instant cash rewards.
Running this campaign at scale presented big challenges: Mexico’s dual-channel retail environment, millions of submissions, and the constant threat of fraud. Receipt-based promotions would have excluded nearly 40% of shoppers who buy from small neighborhood stores. Generic OCR tools could scan codes, but they couldn’t support multiple channels or guarantee campaign integrity.
We delivered a single, integrated solution that enabled participation via web, mobile app, and WhatsApp. Our technology includes robust fraud detection capabilities along with real-time validation to ensure secure processing at scale.
The result: 90k entries processed securely, over $1M USD in rewards distributed instantly, and a new benchmark for consumer engagement in Latin America.
Company Background
PepsiCo Mexico is one of the country’s leading consumer goods companies, with brands like Pepsi, Doritos, and Sabritas dominating snacks and beverages. Competing in a diverse market, PepsiCo needs campaigns that connect with both urban digital natives and traditional shoppers, across hypermarkets and corner stores alike.
In this environment, success requires more than prizes, it demands inclusive, simple, and trustworthy consumer experiences.
The Campaign Challenge
PepsiCo faced three critical challenge:
- Reaching every shopper: Modern trade accounts for just over 50% of CPG value in Latin America, while traditional trade still holds around 40% in Mexico relying on receipts would leave millions of shoppers out.
- Stopping fraud before it spreads: With $1M+ in rewards on the line, PepsiCo needed protections against recycled photos, screenshots, emulators, and coordinated fraud attempts.
- Managing complexity at scale: Two proof-of-purchase formats (caps and strips), millions of submissions, and real-time prize payouts required an end-to-end infrastructure.
Why Alternatives Weren’t Enough
- Receipt-based systems: Standard in many markets, but not workable where large volumes of purchases generate no receipts.
- Single-channel OCR providers: Able to scan codes, but limited to one platform (web or app) and not built for consumer-scale fraud prevention.
- DIY multi-vendor setups: Fragmented solutions for OCR, fraud, and payout add cost and risk, slowing execution and undermining consumer trust.
PepsiCo needed one solution that combined inclusive reach, security, and operational simplicity.
Our Work
We designed and delivered a promotional system that made participation effortless for consumers and airtight for PepsiCo:
- Omnichannel entry: Lens for Browser enabled web participation, Lens SDK powered mobile app submissions, and our WhatsApp OCR API brought the campaign directly into Mexico’s most popular chat app.
- Fraud prevention built-in: Live capture enforced at the point of submission, device fingerprinting, LCD/screenshot detection, and metadata checks ensured integrity without disrupting the user experience.
- Instant validation: Our engine processed millions of cap and strip codes in real time, giving participants confirmation within seconds.
- End-to-end infrastructure: Code capture, validation, fraud protection, and payout ran as a single system, simplifying execution and guaranteeing accountability.
Anti-Fraud Technology Features
Fraud protection was non-negotiable. We layered multiple safeguards:
- Live capture enforcement prevented the reuse of old or edited images.
- Device fingerprinting flagged suspicious behavior such as multiple profiles on one device.
- LCD/screenshot detection blocked digital reproductions.
- Behavioral analysis tracked time, location, and submission patterns to detect coordinated fraud attempts.
These protections ran invisibly in the background: consumers enjoyed a smooth process, while PepsiCo had confidence that every reward was legitimate.
User Experience & Participation Flow
We kept the participant journey simple: buy Pepsi and Doritos, collect the required caps and strips, and submit through web, app, or WhatsApp. Within seconds, consumers received confirmation of their entry.
The immediacy of results sustained engagement and excitement. Behind the scenes, our system handled validation, fraud checks, and payouts automatically.
Prize Structure & Distribution
PepsiCo anchored the campaign with over $1M USD in instant cash rewards. Our integration with Mercado Pago allowed winners to receive payouts immediately, securely, and at scale. This eliminated manual distribution, enabled thousands of payouts per day, and strengthened consumer trust.
Real-Time Analytics & Management
Through our management portal, PepsiCo’s team had full visibility into campaign performance. They monitored live participation trends, tracked engagement by region and product, and responded instantly to fraud alerts. The portal also provided participant-level history, helping resolve inquiries quickly.
For the first time, PepsiCo could optimize a nationwide promotion while it was still live, turning a campaign into a data-driven strategy.
Key Benefits Achieved
By the end of the campaign, PepsiCo achieved:
- Millions of secure entries processed in real time.
- Over $1M USD in instant cash rewards delivered.
- Fraud attempts blocked without disrupting legitimate users.
- Consumer insights across geography and behavior to inform future campaigns.
Beyond engagement, La Pareja Perfecta became proof that large-scale promotions in Latin America can be both inclusive and fraud-proof.
Technology Partnership Value
The success of this campaign was rooted in having one partner manage the entire process. Our integrated system combined code capture, validation, fraud prevention, and payout in a single solution.
For PepsiCo, this partnership set a new standard: promotions that are secure, seamless, and accessible to every consumer, whether in a supermarket in Mexico City or a corner shop in Puebla.
Ready to run your own secure, large-scale promotion?
Talk to our team and see how Veryfi can help you launch omnichannel campaigns that scale, engage, and protect your brand.
