SUNY New Paltz has ended its 25-year long relationship with PepsiCo of the Hudson Valley to enter into a five-year drink and vending contract with Coca-Cola. The decision was made by a 7-1 vote by the Campus Auxiliary Services (CAS) Board during a special meeting on Wednesday, April 29.
Starting in the fall, all vending machines, coolers and fountain drinks will be supplied to the campus by Coca-Cola. Snacks will be supplied by a third-party vendor under contract with Coca-Cola, Triple J Vending of Poughkeepsie, New York.
The contract iterates that Coca-Cola would not provide a signing bonus, unlike the $25,000 promised by Pepsi, but they will be providing CAS with a sponsorship fee of $80,000 a year adding up to $400,000 over the life span of the deal. Since CAS is a 501(c)(3) non-profit thereby all money that comes in, like that of this contract, will be redistributed to various additions to campus.
A minimum commission guarantee of $43,315 from drink sales and $23,000 from snack sales, also included in the contract, amounts to $66,315 a month from Coca-Cola to CAS during years one and two of the partnership. The commission is proposed to increase to $71,955 a month during years three to five.
Coca-Cola has also proposed $10,000 in annual scholarship donation and the offer of a summer internship valued at approximately $17,500.
“Students in particular feel it was time for a change,” Executive Director of CAS Steve Deutsch said at the meeting.
Along with these monetary changes, product changes are set for the near future as well. Pepsi products currently sold at SUNY New Paltz, including, but not limited to; Pepsi, Mt. Dew, True Leaf Tea, Amp Energy Drink, Gatorade, Lipton Tea, Naked and Bottled Starbucks Beverages, will be replaced by Coca-Cola drink.
Coca-Cola, Sprite, PowerAde, Dr. Pepper, Barq’s Root Beer, Seagram’s, Honest Tea, Vitamin Water, Fanta, Minute Maid, Fuze Tea, Odwalla and Nos Energy Drink will be the new brand names filling the vending machines and retail coolers all over campus.
Coca-Cola also offers a new fountain beverage machine known as the Freestyle, and its partner the Legacy. These machines hold above 100 different flavors of Coke products for the user to choose from on a touch screen, including sodas, carbonated waters and juices. The Freestyle machine only serves one at a time, while the Legacy can accommodate up to five, making ideal for heavy foot traffic areas such as Hasbrouck Dining Hall.
The machines offer a variety of classic flavors such as cherry and vanilla additions to Pibb Xtra, formerly known as Mr. Pibb and traditional flavors of Coke, like lime and lemon, along with new ones raspberry and orange.
The machines, however, are costly because of their sophistication and the potential risk of damage. The locations and number of these new machines are not yet known.
Triple J Vending, the snack providers, carry Doritos, Cheetos, Pop Corners, M&Ms, Hershey’s Chocolate, Oreos, Pop Tarts, Twizzlers, Skittles, Big Texas Cinnamon Rolls, Lays Potato Chips and others.