If you have a favorite drink at a U.S. KFC, check who makes it. The KFC Coca-Cola deal, announced Oct. 15, replaces Pepsi products at KFC’s roughly 3,700 U.S. restaurants. The switch starts in January 2027, and every location should be pouring Coke by spring, Fox Business reported. That also means goodbye to Mountain Dew Sweet Lightning, the Mountain Dew flavor KFC launched as its own in 2019. Mountain Dew is a PepsiCo brand, so it leaves with the rest.
Before Pepsi, there was Coke
Most headlines call this the end of a nearly 40-year partnership. That’s true, but it skips what came before.
Before 1986, most KFC restaurants poured Coke. In fact, KFC was Coca-Cola’s second-biggest fountain customer, behind only McDonald’s, CNBC reported. A fountain drink is the soda that comes out of the restaurant’s machine, not from a can or bottle.
Then, in 1986, PepsiCo bought KFC. It was building a restaurant group that also included Pizza Hut and Taco Bell, and its new chicken chain started pouring Pepsi. In 1997, PepsiCo spun the three chains off into a separate company, now called Yum Brands. KFC stopped belonging to PepsiCo, but the drinks deal stayed. So when Coke shows up next year, it’s going back to machines it used to fill.
Why the KFC Coca-Cola deal is happening now
KFC isn’t selling this as a soda decision. In a memo to franchisees and employees reported by CNBC, KFC U.S. President Catherine Tan-Gillespie called it a key part of the “Kentucky Fried Comeback.” That’s KFC’s push to win back U.S. diners who have drifted to rivals like Chick-fil-A and Popeyes. In her public statement, she said the partnership “is about more than what’s in the cup.”
That line makes more sense when you look at what fast-food drinks have turned into. McDonald’s and Taco Bell have added refreshers and “dirty soda,” which is soda mixed with flavored syrups and creamer. For some customers, the drink is now a reason to stop, not just something that comes with the meal. KFC has started testing its own drink lineup, and Coca-Cola says it helps restaurant partners build new drinks. Drinks have become a brand stage in other places too. I wrote about how a bubble tea logo ended up in Louis Vuitton’s earnings with Molly Tea.
What PepsiCo keeps
PepsiCo isn’t walking away from Yum Brands. A PepsiCo spokesperson told Reuters the company recently renewed its deals for Taco Bell and for KFC restaurants outside the U.S. Some KFC markets abroad already serve Coca-Cola drinks, so the overseas map was mixed even before this.
For a U.S. customer, the change will mostly look like new logos on the machine and one missing Mountain Dew. For KFC, it’s a bet that the cup can help sell the bucket.
My take: Not a breakup after 40 years. A homecoming after 40 years.