Benefits of Pepsi Deal

When choosing a drink vendor for the campus, St. Lawrence University sought a good deal, but that is not the only reason why they chose to contract with Pepsi Co. alone.   

While a solid deal is important, the school also looks for good customer service, according to Marijo Haggett, director of dining services. “What we found when going with Pepsi is that we were going to see better pricing overall,” she said. “We have a long-standing relationship with them at the University, and the customer service levels historically are better than The Coca-Cola Company, so we felt it was a better partnership, which is why we awarded them the contract.”  

The contract was determined by a request for proposal, which gives insight to SLU from each company regarding pricing and delivery schedules. Haggett said that this is a fair way to award one company with the partnership. As most universities only work with one company, it was unique that SLU carried both.   

Although contracting with Pepsi was the better deal overall, Pepsi does not only provide drinks for the campus. “We were able to reduce what we’re paying overall for our fountain beverages, and in the bottled beverages there’s a little bit of savings in there,” Haggett said.  

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The other piece is not just about the university saving money. “They also are providing scholarships, they put money towards our Zamboni in Appleton, to the scoreboards that are at all the athletic fields. They do a lot with athletics, so they provide certain levels of Gatorade or water or protein drinks that are for the athletics side of campus,” she said.  

Pepsi also does a lot of marketing here at SLU, where they do events each year and provide students with free products. “So, as a whole package, there are cost savings, but it’s also a relationship-building piece where they can provide a service to the campus that’s beyond the monetary savings,” Haggett said.   

The Pepsi plant in Ogdensburg, N.Y. supplies SLU with their products and also supplies many surrounding schools in the area, said John Reed, the sales manager at the Pepsi plant. “Colleges typically reach out to us for products,” he said. “We try to keep things equal between us and Coca-Cola, but we do what the universities ask us to do, and if they want to be exclusive to us, they can, and if they want to supply both, they can.”  

Haggett said that within the first month or two, there was dissatisfaction among students when the Coca-Cola products were removed from campus. “We did hear from students through our napkin notes which are in both Dana Dining Center and Northstar Café, we heard it through Thelmo and student life staff, there were some students making comments,” she said.   

Theo Parker ‘25, a SLU student, said he was dissatisfied with the removal of his favorite drink, Vitamin Water, which is a Coca-Cola product. “I was really upset that the Vitamin Water was gone; I would spend all of my pub money on Vitamin Water,” he said. “I will go to 7-Eleven or Walmart for a pack of Vitamin Water.”