For nearly 40 years, ordering fried chicken at KFC in the United States usually meant getting Pepsi in the cup. Next year, that familiar combination will begin to change.
KFC and Coca-Cola announced a new U.S. partnership on October 15. Starting in January 2027, KFC will gradually replace Pepsi products with Coca-Cola drinks at its American restaurants. The change is expected to reach all 3,600 KFC locations in the country by spring.
It will be the first time Coca-Cola products are served across the entire KFC U.S. system. But the story between KFC and Pepsi goes back much further.
PepsiCo bought KFC in 1986 for about $840 million. Pepsi then became the exclusive beverage partner for KFC restaurants in the United States.
In 1997, PepsiCo separated KFC, Pizza Hut, and Taco Bell into an independent restaurant company. That business later became Yum! Brands. Although PepsiCo no longer owned KFC, Pepsi remained in its American restaurants for almost three more decades.
KFC has not described the change as a simple fight over which cola tastes better. The company said the new partnership is part of its effort to update the brand, strengthen its restaurants, and create a more relevant experience for customers.
KFC also hopes to use Coca-Cola's wider beverage range and product-development abilities to introduce new drinks and create more combinations of food and beverages. In that sense, the decision is about more than replacing one name on a cup with another.
The change does not apply to every KFC around the world. Some international markets already serve Coca-Cola, while others continue to work with Pepsi.
KFC restaurants in China are not currently part of the switch. After the U.S. announcement, KFC China's customer service said its restaurants still served Pepsi products and had not received notice of a change.
For American customers, the difference may eventually look simple: the fried chicken will come with Coke instead of Pepsi. For the companies involved, however, it marks the end of a partnership that began when PepsiCo actually owned KFC.
After almost 40 years, the chicken may stay familiar, but the drink beside it is changing sides.