MBA team is one of a select few chosen to make its case at a national competition

Perhaps someday soon a handsome gent will gaze across a crowded room and send a lovely lady a nice bubbly Pepsi via social media – or at least a purchase code for one – along with an invitation to meet by the vending machine.

Such sweet introductions could be reality if an idea proposed by a team of four Chapman University MBA students takes the top prize at the upcoming student business case competition hosted by the National Society of Hispanic MBAs and sponsored by PepsiCo. The soft drink meet-up idea is just part of the business plan that the student team from the
Argyros School of Business and Economics
will pitch PepsiCo executives at the society’s annual meeting in San Antonio, Texas, Oct. 10-12.

The Chapman team includes Isaac Rosales (MBA/MFA ’15), David Ferialdi (MBA ’14), Siedé Kohl (MBA/MFA ’15) and Yvette Valencia (MBA ’14). The team is one of three finalists selected from business schools across the country that entered the competition. Pepperdine University and William and Mary are the other two schools that will compete at the finals.

The students were challenged to present ideas that would capitalize on a new
interactive vending machine
that includes a 46-inch touchscreen and technology that offers game rewards, video messaging, gift options and movie trailers. The Chapman team is proposing an application that would extend the machine’s soft drink gifting option to the people who may not be in users’ phone contacts – yet. Their hyper-local application that would connect people within a friendly distance of the machine.

Says Yvette Valencia: “We want this vending machine to break the ice.”