Everyone who's dined at KFC has noticed one strange thing - that they just don't seem to do Coca-Cola. But now, that's set to change... for the first time in 40 years. In a major brand shakeup, the drinks brand will take over beverage operations in Pepsi's place.
As reported by Dexerto, this is a pretty big deal. After all, KFC used to be under Pepsi's wing, ever since they acquired the brand back in 1986.
But back in 1997, PepsiCo decided to spin the fast food giant off into its own company, Yum Brands - but they kept their close business relationship and therefore kept Pepsi stocked in all their stores.
Per NRN, execs for both corporations seemed pretty excited to bring everything together.
KFC's president, Catherine Tan-Gillespie, explained in a statement, "I'm incredibly excited to bring KFC and Coca-Cola together. These are two originals, with deep consumer love."
Coca-Cola's president of Foodservice & On-Premise added, "By pairing KFC's iconic food and flavors with the breadth of Coca-Cola's beverage portfolio and innovation capabilities, we have an incredible opportunity to make every visit more refreshing, create memorable consumer experiences and unlock new growth possibilities together."
If you're a Pepsi fan and are devastated by this news, don't fret. That's because the fast food giant announced the shakeup only affects the US market, and international markets will still be supplied by PepsiCo.
Videos by Wide Open Country
The Major Shakeup Puts One Popular Drink at Risk
Of course, with a huge shakeup like this, things must have been entirely planned. But one thing that has seemingly been left in limbo is a KFC-exclusive Mountain Dew flavor.
In case you haven't been to KFC in a while, let's fill you in. Mountain Dew Sweet Lightning was originally introduced back in 2019 specifically for KFC restaurants. The soda has a peach and honey flavor base and was quite popular with customers.
And it was just last year that the company decided to release a spruced-up version of the flavor. It was dubbed a "peaches and cream" flavor, having come with a dollop of vanilla flavor.
There's been no word on either side of the soda war aisle as to what sodas will be going where.
