Costco gives Coke the boot, replaces it with Pepsi

Coca-Cola is out and Pepsi is in at Costco.

Costco has confirmed that all of its food service locations will be switching from Coke to Pepsi products, Jeffrey Klineman at BevNET reported.

It will start gradually changing things out at its 400 US stores in April as the vending contracts expire.

This directly affects Costco's beloved hot dog and 20 oz. Coke combo, though the price of the combo remains at $1.50 — just as it has for the past 27 years.

“It’s a big shift,” Costco VP of food services Alan Bubitz told BevNET. “They’re the only vendor we’ve ever had for the majority of the business locations.”

The change to the combo is not totally unprecedented. Back in 2009, Costco switched from Hebrew National hot dogs to Kirkland Signature — its own brand. Previously, it upsized the drink from 12 oz. to 20 oz.

“You’re not going to be able to please everybody,” said Bubitz. “It’s our job to preserve the integrity of the price point.”

It's a coup for Pepsi.

Costco dishes out more than 100 million hot dogs at its food courts, which is more than four times what Major League Baseball sold at its ballparks in 2011, according to the National Hot Dog & Sausage Council.

And every hot dog is sold with a drink, said Bubitz.

Costco said that the move has nothing to do with a dispute it had with Coca-Cola in 2009. The retailer had temporarily stopped carrying Coke products in its stores.

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