Green Owl

Food and drink

Coke or Pepsi?

Ever asked for a Coke and heard "is Pepsi OK?" The answer was decided by a contract, sometimes decades ago.

Numbers as of the original post

The full story

  1. Is Pepsi OK? Why your restaurant only has one. Two crowned plates, Coca-Cola and Pepsi, each ruling three of the six chains. Under Coca-Cola: McDonald's since 1955, Burger King since 1990, Wendy's since 1998. Under Pepsi: Subway since 2025, and KFC and Taco Bell, which Pepsi used to own. A contract
  2. Team Coke: McDonald's has served Coca-Cola for 71 years. It started with a handshake in 1955 between Ray Kroc and a Coke manager. Coke built a team just for it, called The McDonald's Division. The oldest deal on this list.
  3. Team Coke: Wendy's has been Coke only for 28 years. It signed in August 1998, one soda for every restaurant. Coke put 42 million dollars into Wendy's ads in the first year, according to Wendy's chief executive. Before 1998, each owner could choose.
  4. Team Coke: Burger King has been back with Coca-Cola for 36 years. It went from Coke to Pepsi in the 1980s, then switched back in 1990 and stayed. A soda can lose a chain, and win it back.
  5. Team Pepsi: about 20,000 Subway restaurants in the US switched from Coke to Pepsi on 1 January 2025. It is a 10-year deal and the price is not public. The newest deal on this list.
  6. Team Pepsi: KFC and Taco Bell serve Pepsi because PepsiCo used to own them, and Pizza Hut too. When it split them off in 1997, the new restaurant company paid PepsiCo 4.5 billion dollars in cash. 29 years on, they still serve Pepsi. The owner left. The soda stayed.
  7. Add it up: six chains, three each. Coca-Cola has McDonald's, Burger King and Wendy's; its oldest deal is from 1955. Pepsi has Subway, KFC and Taco Bell; its newest deal is from 2025. Costco left Coke in 2013 to keep its hot dog and soda at 1 dollar 50, and went back to Coke in 2025 at the same price
  8. Coke or Pepsi? Choices: Coke, Pepsi, or neither. Would you pick a restaurant for its soda? Follow Green Owl if you want more.

A restaurant chain usually signs with one soda company and pours only its drinks. In the US:

Coca-Cola • McDonald's - since 1955, starting from a handshake deal • Burger King - back with Coke since 1990, after serving Pepsi from 1983 • Wendy's - exclusive agreement signed in 1998

Pepsi • KFC and Taco Bell - PepsiCo used to own them (and Pizza Hut). It spun the restaurants off in 1997 as the company now called Yum! Brands, and they kept pouring Pepsi. • Subway - switched from Coke to Pepsi on 1 January 2025, a 10-year deal

It keeps moving. Costco's food courts went the other way in 2025, from Pepsi back to Coke.

What this does NOT say: • This is the US. The same chain can pour the other brand in another country. • Individual franchise locations can differ. • It says nothing about how much either soda company earns from these deals; the terms are not public.

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Companies in this picture

BNYCostcoKFCCoca-ColaMcDonald'sPepsiCoSubwayTaco BellWendy's

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