Coke products start rolling into KFC’s U.S. restaurants in January, and every location should have them by spring 2027. Fans of KFC’s exclusive Mountain Dew flavor are already worried.
Pepsi and the Colonel are splitting up.
KFC is switching its U.S. restaurants from Pepsi to Coca-Cola, the chain announced Thursday, Oct. 15.
“Beginning in January 2027, KFC will transition its U.S. beverage partnership to The Coca-Cola Company, with Coca-Cola products expected to be served in all U.S. restaurants by spring 2027,” KFC said in its announcement.
That’s roughly 3,700 restaurants, Fox Business reported. The Wall Street Journal broke the news first, and no financial terms were released, Reuters reported.
Why is KFC switching from Pepsi to Coke?
KFC says it’s part of a bigger makeover.
“This partnership is about more than what’s in the cup,” KFC U.S. President Catherine Tan-Gillespie said. “It is another step in our work to evolve KFC, strengthen our restaurants, menu offerings and create a more relevant experience for today’s customers.”
Coca-Cola’s Dagmar Boggs said the deal brings the two brands together “across the U.S. for the first time.” She added that it’s a chance to “make every visit more refreshing.”
KFC also teased “new drink offerings” and “expanded daypart occasions,” which sounds like more drinks at more times of day.
Does KFC still have Mountain Dew Sweet Lightning?
For now. Sweet Lightning, the peach and honey Mountain Dew sold only at KFC, launched in 2019.
KFC hasn’t said whether it’s going away, Dexerto reported. Sporked called its end “the most obvious ripple effect” of the switch, though that’s the writer’s guess, not a KFC announcement.
KFC hasn’t released its full Coke lineup either. It also had a Dr Pepper deal, and it didn’t answer when Restaurant Dive asked if that would change.
Why did KFC serve Pepsi in the first place?
Pepsi used to own it. PepsiCo bought KFC in 1986, Nation’s Restaurant News reported.
PepsiCo spun off its restaurants in 1997 as Tricon Global Restaurants, which became Yum Brands in 2002. KFC kept pouring Pepsi after the breakup.
Here’s the twist. Before Pepsi bought it, KFC was “the second-largest Coke fountain customer, behind only McDonald’s,” CNBC reported. So in a way, Coke is getting an old customer back.
Are Taco Bell and Pizza Hut switching to Coke too?
No. Taco Bell is staying with Pepsi on a 10-year deal, a PepsiCo spokesperson told Reuters. KFC restaurants outside the U.S. are sticking with Pepsi, too.
So Baja Blast is safe.
Pizza Hut, which Yum agreed to sell in June, still serves Pepsi, Reuters reported.
Which chicken chains serve Coke?
Most of the big ones, now. KFC joins Popeyes, Chick-fil-A, Raising Cane’s and Zaxby’s, Sporked noted. By Sporked’s count, Bojangles is now the biggest chicken chain still serving Pepsi.
It’s been a rough stretch for Pepsi’s restaurant deals. Pepsi recently lost Marriott after 34 years and Costco’s food court after a decade, QSR Web reported.
It goes both ways, though. Subway switched to Pepsi starting Jan. 1, 2025.
Still, one analyst didn’t hold back. “It is just a bad look for PepsiCo,” Jay Woods of Freedom Capital Markets told Reuters. His firm owns Coca-Cola shares.
What else is changing at KFC?
A lot. KFC’s U.S. system sales fell 2% in the first quarter of 2026 and were down 2% again in the second quarter, Restaurant Dive reported. The chain closed 147 net U.S. restaurants in 2025.
To turn things around, KFC added nine new sauces and launched a tenders spinoff called Saucy.
In September, it opened a test restaurant called Open House in McKinney, Texas. It has breakfast, table service, lemonades, boba refreshers and Krunch shakes, according to KFC.
The company’s Coke announcement pointed to Open House drinks like iced coffees, boba and shakes as part of the plan.
“Coca-Cola shares our ambition for the future of this brand,” Tan-Gillespie said.
A bucket of chicken and a Coke. Somewhere, a 1985 KFC customer is nodding along.
Article compiled and written by Kambrea Pratt (editor-in-chief), Derek Gibbs (beat editor) and the Pirates & Princesses newsroom. Pirates & Princesses is part of WebReef Media.
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Hat Tips:
KFC press release via PR Newswire (Oct. 15, 2026), the Coca-Cola switch and quotes
Reuters, via the New York Post (Oct. 15, 2026), Taco Bell, Pizza Hut and the WSJ report
Fox Business, Michael Sinkewicz (Oct. 16, 2026), restaurant count
Restaurant Dive, Aneurin Canham-Clyne (Oct. 16 and July 31, 2026), Dr Pepper and KFC sales
Nation’s Restaurant News, Alicia Kelso (Oct. 15, 2026), PepsiCo history
Sporked, Griffin Parker (Oct. 16, 2026), chicken chains and Sweet Lightning
Dexerto, Dylan Horetski (Oct. 16, 2026)
QSR Web (Oct. 16, 2026), Pepsi’s lost accounts
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