Students returning to Utah State University in Logan this spring semester will notice a change at the vending machines.
Coca-Cola is out and Pepsi is in.
USU’s decade-long contract with the beverage giant has come to an end and Pepsi will be taking its place.
Dwight Davis, associate vice president of business and finance at USU, says all products and services on campus go through a competitive bid process.
“The contract we had with our prior pouring rights vendor expired," he said. "We therefore followed the state procurement purchasing guidelines. We did a (request for proposal) and Pepsi won the RFP procurement process.”
Pouring rights: That’s a term used to describe a vendor’s exclusive right to control marketing and distribution at places like sports arenas and schools.
“Most universities around the country do this," Davis added. "There are benefits to developing a pouring rights contract. For example, there are advertising benefits. The person who wins the RFP would have a right to market and therefore would pay financial remuneration to have that opportunity.”
Davis says accepting Pepsi’s competitive bid will translate into cost savings for Utah State and provide additional funding for academic scholarships.
The new Pepsi contract is expected to last 10 and a half years.