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PepsiCo has been reappointed as the primary beverage partner for KFC across eight major international markets, extending an alliance spanning the United Kingdom, Australia, India, Spain, Germany, France, the Netherlands, and Belgium.
The multi-year renewal builds upon a multi-decade commercial relationship between the beverage multinational and the Yum! Brands fried chicken chain. Across the licensed territories, the extended agreement covers fountain dispense rights, packaged retail beverages, and joint culinary menu innovation programmes across dine-in, drive-thru, and digital delivery channels.
The agreement reinforces PepsiCo’s away-from-home global footprint while providing KFC with unified supply chain infrastructure and beverage category development across key growth regions in Europe, Asia-Pacific, and South Asia.
"KFC is building great momentum across its international markets," said Eugene Willemsen, Chief Executive Officer of International Beverages at PepsiCo.
"As consumer tastes continue to evolve, PepsiCo is moving at the speed of culture, bringing new capabilities and category-leading innovation to help KFC build a more modern, distinctive and relevant beverage business around the world. We are proud of our longstanding partnership with KFC and look forward to continuing to build on that strong foundation together."
Beverage Portfolio
Under the renewed framework, the two companies collaborate to calibrate beverage boards and package formats to match regional dietary patterns, national sugar-reduction guidelines, and local consumption habits:
🥤 Pepsi Trademark Colas: Fountain and packaged lines anchored by no-sugar formulations, including Pepsi Zero Sugar, Pepsi MAX, and flavoured variants such as Pepsi MAX Cherry.
🍋 Lemon-Lime Carbonates: Distribution of 7UP and zero-sugar variations as the lead citrus carbonated soft drink option.
🍑 Still Refreshment and Iced Teas: Pouring and bottled supply for Lipton Peach Iced Tea alongside local ready-to-drink tea assortments.
⚡ Emerging Functional and Energy Platforms: Integration of crafted sodas, functional beverages, and energy drink lines designed to capture off-peak daytime snacking and attract younger demographics.
By focusing on sugar-free variants such as Pepsi MAX, the beverage programme aligns with regional public health legislation, including the UK Soft Drinks Industry Levy and European nutritional labelling standards, without compromising high-volume fountain margins.
Brand Collaborations
Beyond traditional fountain pouring rights, the commercial relationship serves as an incubator for co-branded food items that translate PepsiCo's snack food trademarks into exclusive QSR menu items:
🍗 Doritos® Loaded: An exclusive menu platform combining KFC's crispy fried chicken tenders with crushed Doritos corn tortilla chips, melted cheese sauces, and Mexican-inspired savoury toppings.
The integration of snack brands into quick-service food menus provides KFC with immediate visual and textural differentiation, supporting promotional LTO cycles and driving transaction frequency among Gen Z and younger millennial consumers.
Partnerships in Select Countries
The renewal arrives as quick-service restaurant operators look to beverage programmes to elevate average transaction value (ATV) and capture midday and late-night dayparts.
The eight markets covered by the agreement represent diverse operational landscapes:
United Kingdom and Continental Europe: Operating across mature QSR territories, including the UK, Spain, Germany, France, the Netherlands, and Belgium, where supply chain resilience, carbonated zero-sugar compliance, and digital app attachment rates remain commercial priorities.
Australia and India: High-growth territories characterised by aggressive physical restaurant network expansion, requiring reliable regional bottling distribution and localised drink innovation to support new store openings.
By securing long-term partner status across these territories, PepsiCo protects volume throughput across its international bottling network, while KFC gains structured culinary collaboration, marketing support, and commercial certainty across its multinational restaurant estate.
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