KFC Coca-Cola switch ends nearly 40 years of Pepsi in the US
The Louisville chain ends a supply relationship that dates back to PepsiCo’s ownership, as part of a comeback plan built on new drinks, value meals and returning menu favourites.
The KFC Coca-Cola deal announced on Thursday 15 October will replace Pepsi drinks in roughly 3,700 KFC restaurants across the United States, ending a supply relationship that began in 1986. The changeover starts in January 2027 and should be complete by the end of the first quarter.
KFC US president Catherine Tan-Gillespie set out the timetable in an internal memo reported by CNBC. Coca-Cola’s brands will take over the fountains, coolers and combo meals of the Louisville-based chain, which Fox Business puts at about 3,700 domestic locations.
Tan-Gillespie described the two companies as “two originals, with deep consumer love” and said the partnership goes beyond what is in the cup. Dagmar Boggs, Coca-Cola’s president of foodservice and on-premise for North America, called it “an incredible opportunity to make every visit more refreshing”. Both sides talk about new food and drink pairings and a wider beverage range; neither has published financial terms.
A soda contract is rarely just a soda contract: KFC is buying itself a new story.
Why the KFC Coca-Cola move matters now
The switch belongs to the comeback plan KFC launched in 2025, after years of losing market share to Chick-fil-A and Popeyes. The plan has so far brought refreshed marketing, cheaper bundles and the return of potato wedges and popcorn chicken. Drinks are part of the bet: the chain’s Open House prototype in McKinney, Texas, sells a “Sips” range of lemonades, boba refreshers and Krunch shakes, a high-margin category that fast-food operators are chasing.
For PepsiCo the loss is a visible one. KFC is among the largest US restaurant sellers of Pepsi and Mountain Dew, according to CNBC. PepsiCo bought KFC in 1986, when the chicken chain was Coca-Cola’s second-largest fountain customer after McDonald’s, and made Pepsi its exclusive drinks supplier.
What changes for Taco Bell and Pizza Hut
In 1997 PepsiCo spun off its restaurant arm, made up of KFC, Pizza Hut and Taco Bell, as Tricon Global Restaurants, renamed Yum! Brands in 2002. The Pepsi contracts survived the separation, and outside KFC’s US business they still stand. According to The Wall Street Journal, which first reported the deal, Taco Bell, now expanding into Germany, will keep serving Pepsi, and Reuters reported that PepsiCo recently renewed agreements covering Taco Bell and KFC’s international restaurants. The announcement does not mention Pizza Hut.
Tan-Gillespie said Pepsi remains an important partner for Yum! Brands and for KFC abroad, where some markets already pour Coca-Cola. PepsiCo has lost the Marriott and Costco food court accounts in recent years while winning Subway, according to US press reports.
The first Coca-Cola fountains arrive in January. If the timetable holds, every KFC in the United States will be pouring them by the end of March 2027, 41 years after Pepsi took over.
