2008 Woodie Awards
Pepsi products trump Coca-Cola at URI, bring in $4M for university
Robert Preliasco
Issue date: 11/20/07 Section: Campus
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URI Vice President of Administration Robert Weygand said that in exchange, the university will have made more than $4 million by the time the contract expires in 2010.
Since both Pepsi and its biggest competitor, Coca-Cola, own many other soft drinks besides their respective namesakes, the contract affects, in some way, every kind of drink that URI can offer students.
Kathleen Gianquitti, director of URI Dining Services, said that Pepsi products are the only kind of carbonated beverage that can be served in URI's dining halls. Additionally, Pepsi products are required to take up 60 percent of shelf space in URI retail stores like the Hope Corner Store. The remaining 40 percent of drinks for sale do not have to be made by Pepsi, but they have to be non-carbonated and cannot be made by Coca-Cola.
Gianquitti said that representatives of PepsiCo inspect URI twice each year for compliance with the contract.
She pointed out that this kind of contract is not uncommon, and said that she does not have a problem with it because she still has some freedom in determining what drinks will be sold. Gianquitti added that she has never heard students complain about the lack of Coke products.
"We sell a significant amount of Pepsi out of the Corner Store," she said.
Weygand said that URI's contract with PepsiCo is one of hundreds that the university has with outside vendors, covering "everything from construction to paperclips."
He said the university earns between $180,000 and $200,000 from the contract each year and also received $750,000 for agreeing to name a part of the Ryan Center "The Pepsi Tower." Weygand said the yearly money from the contract is divided among many recipients and causes at URI, including the Athletics Department, Housing and Residential Life, Disability Services and the University Library.