Costco Is Reportedly Making A Monumental Change To Its Food Courts

Costco may soon be shaking up the soda offerings in its hundreds of food courts. Online rumors suggest that the popular discount wholesaler will soon drop Pepsi products from its soda fountains in exchange for a slate of Coke products, including at least Coke, Coke Zero, Diet Coke, and Sprite. The unverified rumors claim shoppers can expect the change to arrive at their local Costco in early 2025.

Pepsi products have been the lone soda offering at Costco food courts since 2013, when the chain switched after failing to negotiate lower distribution costs with Coca-Cola. The switch took years to complete across Costco's 800-plus global locations, and any switch back to Coca-Cola will likely take similarly long. But the kerfuffle was not Costco and Coke's first flare-up. The two had an earlier pricing dispute in 2009, while the food courts still served Coke, resulting in Costco pulling Coke products from all stores for a month.

Both Coke and Pepsi have steadfast fans of their distinct flavors, but it's actually not feasible for restaurants and food courts like Costcos to sell both Coca-Cola and Pepsi products. Soda companies bid on contracts to exclusively distribute their products, and as with many things related to business costs, the lowest price often wins.

By locking in low costs with its Pepsi contract — and possibly its upcoming Coke contract — Costco also locks out competing soda brands. And for a store like Costco, production cost is likely the biggest concern.

The chain's discounts depend on keeping business costs down in a variety of ways, including getting the best deal on supplying its soda fountains. This dynamic was to credit (or blame) for Costco's signing with Pepsi in 2013. Reports at the time indicated that part of the reason was Pepsi's lower bid, which made it easier to maintain the price of the famous $1.50 hot dog and soda combo.