You Won’t Be Able to Get Coke at Subway Anymore

Do you remember that “Coke or Pepsi?” book where you could get to know your friends based on their preferences? It was the book to buy at the Scholastic Book Fair in elementary school. Or maybe you remember the Cola Wars of the 1980s, when the two brands went head-to-head. Well, it would appear, over 20 years later, the age-old ”Coke or Pepsi?” question is still just as relevant today.

If you’re a Coke person, you likely have a favorite fountain Coke from a fast food restaurant—because everyone knows fountain Coca-Cola is elite. But, if your all-time fave was from Subway, we have some bad news for you. Pretty soon, you won’t be able to get Coke at the sub shop.

Subway Announces PepsiCo Partnership

Subway announced it’s signing a new, 10-year deal with PepsiCo to supply its beverages at all U.S. restaurants. That means instead of Coke, Sprite, Barq’s, Simply, Gold Peak, and Dasani, Subway will now sell Pepsi, Starry, Tropicana, Lipton, Mountain Dew, and Aquafina.

The only beverage that is guaranteed to remain available is Gatorade—it’s a PepsiCo product, after all. And there’s more good news for those Gatorade lovers: Subway locations will now have access to a wider variety of sports drink flavors. So you might actually have a choice of Gatorade flavor, rather than having to grab the only one available.

It’s unclear what will happen to Subway’s Monster and milk offerings—as neither Coca-Cola nor PepsiCo own those brands.

The switch to Pepsi beverages doesn't come as that big of a surprise. PepsiCo is the beverage provider for many international Subway locations in countries like Germany, Canada, the Netherlands, and several Nordic countries. And prior to the 10-year Coke deal, Pepsi supplied Subway’s beverages for nearly three decades.

Plus, Subway has had a partnership with PepsiCo for years, as PepsiCo supplies all of Subway’s chips. PepsiCo owns Frito-Lay, the makers of Lay’s, SunChips, Doritos, and Miss Vickie’s, which are the only snacks available at Subway restaurants.

So, in addition to the 10-year beverage partnership, Subway and PepsiCo extended its Frito-Lay partnership through 2030 as well—meaning your favorite chips won’t be impacted.

Subway will still serve Coca-Cola products through the end of the year, but switch to PepsiCo products on January 1, 2025. This will give Subway ample time to replace all the beverage equipment across its franchises nationwide.

Welcome back to your Pepsi roots, Subway. Now can we get the $5 footlong back, too?