TL;DR
Several restaurant chains, including KFC, Culver's, Subway, Marriott, and Costco, have changed their beverage providers in recent years. George Hiller, a consultant, discusses the reasons behind these changes on the Restaurant Business podcast A Deeper Dive.
This week’s episode of the Restaurant Business podcast A Deeper Dive features George Hiller, a longtime consultant who works with restaurant chains on their beverage strategies.
We wanted to talk with Hiller after KFC made the surprising announcement that it is switching from Pepsi to Coke.
A lot of chains and foodservice providers, including Culver’s, Subway, Marriott, and Costco, have changed their beverage contracts in recent years. We wanted to understand why this is happening, and what brands are seeking to accomplish when they make a change like this.
George discusses these issues as well as the unique situation involving KFC, which generated a lot of headlines and discussions with its move.
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In this story
This story was originally published in Restaurant Business on October 28, 2026. Burnaze summarizes and links to the original reporting.
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