Ryan ChartrandWhen on campus, Cal Poly faculty and students never hear the familiar “Always Coca-Cola” jingle. And they won’t, at least not until the year 2009.
The university has a contract with PepsiCo Inc. to only sell their products until June 30, 2009.
Before the agreement, which began in 2004, Cal Poly carried Coca-Cola, Pepsi and other products on campus.
Now, Cal Poly only sells brands owned by PepsiCo Inc., including Mountain Dew, Tropicana, Gatorade and Aquafina drinking water. Starbucks products, which are purchased through PepsiCo Inc., are also available on campus.
“Pepsi provides about $180,000 per year and this money is used for scholarships, support of student programs, summer internships, marketing and capital needs on campus,” said Bonnie Murphy, executive director of the Cal Poly Corporation.
Cal Poly goes through a three-step process to determine which products will be available on campus. First, the university develops a set of specifications, then advertises for companies to bid on the contract, and makes a choice after evaluating the bids, Murphy said.
Before the Pepsi contract expires in 2009, Coca-Cola and other companies will have the chance to re-bid on the contract.
The current Pepsi supremacy at Cal Poly even runs into on-campus events. When the student-run marketing firm New Wave Promotions held an event Nov. 6 to introduce the 2008 Honda Accord Coupe, the group was only allowed to pass out Aquafina water bottles to students, said Lauren Elliott, a member of the firm’s events team. The firm is made up of 22 Cal Poly business seniors.
“We were initially planning on purchasing Costco water bottles. However, when we learned of this policy, we were in a time crunch and had to buy Aquafina products directly from campus, rather than trying to get them donated. It ended up being one of our biggest expenses,” Elliott said.
According to the Cal Poly campus food services policy (dated March 23, 2005), “The University recognizes the role of food in the activities of campus departments and students organizations. In an effort to support campus department and student organizations and to ensure the safety of food provided on campus, campus organizations shall adhere to ‘Event Rules.'”
One rule includes that food and drinks provided at on-campus events must be purchased from Campus Dining or Campus Catering, and because of Cal Poly’s exclusive contract with PepsiCo Inc., all drinks provided at these events must be Pepsi products.
The campus food policy directly states that under the Pepsi contract, “non-Pepsi products are generally not authorized to be given away or sold on campus. This exclusivity precludes sampling, promotions for, and distribution of non-Pepsi soft drinks, sport drinks, juice or juice-based products, ready-to-drink coffee, water and ready-to-drink tea.”
These rules and regulations help create standards on campus for food service “in order to ensure the safety and consistency of the products provided and service of those products,” according to Cal Poly food services policy.