Costco Confirms Rumor About a Major Change to Its Food Court

Costco has confirmed that the company is making the switch from Pepsi to Coca-Cola products at the retail chain's popular food courts, responding to rumors that first surfaced last month.

According to CNN, Costco CEO Ron Vachris announced the change to the food court soda fountains to during the company's annual shareholder meeting on Thursday. "We will be converting our food court fountain business back over to Coca-Cola," Vachris said, responding to a shareholder who had asked about the rumors.

The deal reportedly includes branding such as cups, straws, and other products, in addition to the fountain machines and syrup used in the sodas.

News that Coca-Cola would be replacing Pepsi first began circulating online last month after surfacing on the Costco Insider Instagram account.

"After over a decade, Costco is switching back from Pepsi to Coke products in their stores. The change will bring Coke, Coke Zero, and Diet Coke, as well as Sprite instead of Starry," the account noted in a Dec. 18 post. It added that the warehouse giant initially made the change from Coke to Pepsi back in 2013 as a cost-saving measure to keep the price of its famous $1.50 hot dog and soda combo.

"But after a standoff where Costco pulled all Coke products for a month, Coke lowered their prices, allowing Costco to switch back in early 2025," the post explained. "Coke’s focus on machine quality and partnership with Costco are likely driving the change.”

Machine quality being a driving force in switching back to Coke products certainly seems to track. In a Reddit thread about the rumored change last month, several users lamented about the quality of the fountain soda had declined after Costco switched to Pepsi products. "I could deal with it if they were kept calibrated. Every time I go it’s too syrupy or light to the point it tastes like water," noted one user.

Before changing to Pepsi in 2013, Costco had been contracted with Coca-Cola for decades. Given the customer gripes, and the fact that the $1.50 hot dog deal will remain intact, as it has since 1985, it seems like the change will be welcome for most customers. Now, if only the company will meet customer demand by providing mayo as a condiment at its food courts.