If you're a Pepsi (NYSE: PEP) fan, you've come to count on KFC, Pizza Hut, and Taco Bell to serve up the syrupy fizz that you crave. That's because the three chains were owned by Pepsi itself until it chose to spin them off as Yum! Brands (NYSE: YUM).
The new arrangement probably makes things easier for Pepsi. It was tough to imagine a harder sell than a Pepsi account exec walking into a rival chicken, pizza, or Mexican fast food chain to explain why that chain should dump Coke (NYSE: KO) in a move that would fatten the pockets of these companies' own competitors. I mean, ever since the split, it's not as though too many of the Coke-based establishments have jumped over to the Pepsi camp.
That's what makes yesterday's announcement -- that Arby's is going with Pepsi at all of its 3,500 units -- so noteworthy.
Now, Arby's is no stranger to the cola wars. It was once owned by Royal Crown Cola. Yep, RC Cola. Five years ago, Royal Crown was swallowed down by Cadbury Schweppes (NYSE: CSG), leaving Arby's as the most important piece of parent company Triarc's (NYSE: TRY) conglomerate.
From now on, Pepsi and Cadbury Schweppes will be the only fountain drinks served at Arby's roast beef and curly fry emporiums. (And if you haven't tried it yet, don't forget that Arby's also makes a killer chocolate/peanut-butter shake.)
Will the three burger giants follow suit? That's rather unlikely. If Burger King didn't dump Coke two years ago after it tricked BK into building out its Frozen Coke machines throughout the chain, it probably never will. McDonald's (NYSE: MCD) and Wendy's (NYSE: WEN) aren't likely to hop pop in the near future, either.
That's why landing Arby's exclusivity is a great coup for PepsiCo. Still, don't expect it to cause a domino effect. Even if the Pepsi bandwagon stops at Arby's, keep this in mind -- although further troop movements aren't likely at the moment, there may never be a cease-fire in the cola war. And who would have it any other way?
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Longtime Fool contributor Rick Munarriz will have a beef and cheddar with a side of onion petals, please. Some Horsey sauce and Arby's sauce would be nice, too. Rick doesn't own shares in any of the companies mentioned in this story. He is a member of the Rule Breakers analytical team, seeking out tomorrow's great growth stocks today.
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