The canned snacks are in test in soft drink vending machines in Kansas City, Indianapolis and Seattle as well as in Des Moines, IA, and Birmingham, AL. Frito-Lay, a division of Purchase, NY-based PepsiCo, is tight-lipped about the two-piece, 211 aluminum can, which is supplied by American National Can Co. (Chicago, IL). It holds between 13/8 and 15/8 oz of snacks and is sealed with a 209 full-panel pull-top aluminum end. Ends are embossed with a pair of diagrams illustrating opening instructions. Presumably the cans are pressurized to maintain sidewall strength during distribution and vending. Vending machines have not been altered to accommodate the canned snacks, which are delivered to the customer at the same temperature as the beverages displayed in the machines. In Kansas City, the snacks were being sold for 75¢, the same price as the soft drinks being vended. Packaging World's questions about the cost of the aluminum can compared to traditional flexible films were not answered by Frito-Lay. It's tempting to speculate that if the can is used with any regularity, it would be primarily for special promotional purposes, in which case aluminum's considerably higher cost would be tolerable.
