I spotted this news from November 2015 who mentionned then KFC(Kentucky Fried Chicken) restaurants in New Zealand ditched Pepsi for Coke
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=11540985
https://www.reddit.com/r/newzealand/comments/3rpbkp/kfc_ditches_pepsi_for_coke/
And it seems to be the 2nd country where it happened, Yum! did it in February 2012 for its KFC and Pizza Hut restaurants in Romania.
http://www.romania-insider.com/yum-switches-to-coca-cola-from-rival-pepsi-for-its-kfc-pizza-hut-restaurants-in-romania/49453/
Is it the beginning of an upcoming trend?
That's somewhat surprising, considering that KFC and Pizza Hut used to be under the PepsiCo umbrella until somewhat recently.
Nexus 7
Pepsi owned KFC from 86-97, its other two restaurant chains (Taco Bell and Pizza Hut) from the mid 70s. So it will soon be 20 years since the spin off.
Outside North America, excepting a few Latin and Arab markets, Pepsi is a much weaker competitor, and is generally thought of as a cheap immitation and generally thought to pass its "inferiority" to places that sell it. Even back during the 80s, when Burger King went to Pepsi for a few years, it was only in the USA and Canada, as it knew the brand would not sell well elsewhere.
Quote from: Thing 342 on February 09, 2016, 12:53:49 AM
That's somewhat surprising, considering that KFC and Pizza Hut used to be under the PepsiCo umbrella until somewhat recently.
Nexus 7
How it's YUM brands, but most still seem to offer Pepsi products. They also have Taco Bell, but also had A&W and Long John Silvers brands until they were jettisoned.
I wouldn't assume that it has anything to do with perception of the brand.
Remember that ultimately the name of the game is profit. Whenever a business switches from selling one brand of something to another, the most obvious reason is simply because the supplier of the latter brand offered the owner a better deal. If you owned a restaurant that had been serving Pepsi for years, and Coke offered to sell you their soda for 5 cents less per liter, you'd make the same switch.
Except that in North America, KO has always charged more, and still has 70% of the fountain market, and it charges even more in other markets. Fact is, PEP costs you customers outside North America.
The hedge fund or whatever that owns Frisch's switched to Pepsi because it's cheaper.