In a few weeks time, Stony Brook University will be entering into an exclusive ten-year contract with Pepsi. Since last June, when the ten-year contract with Coca-Cola expired, the university has been restocking over 140 vending machines as well as the dining halls on campus with Pepsi products. These areas include the West Campus, Stony Brook Southampton, the University Medical Center and Long Island State Veterans Home.
The bidding process by Pepsi, Coca-Cola and a few other beverage companies occurred last spring after the Faculty Student Association, which is a not-for-profit auxiliary service on campus, sent out Request for Proposals, or RFPs, to the bidding companies.
The last contract, with Coca-Cola brought in over $5 million to the university. The University Controller, Lyle Gomes, says that this contract will use the net revenue to fund scholarships for about 1850 students.
Some 90 percent of the shelf-space will be allocated to Pepsi products with just ten percent to non-competitive alternatives.
One caveat to the new contract includes a provision that allows the FSA to sell Poland Spring bottles–although Pepsi is already offering Aquafina water. This is because the new contract differentiates between filtered and spring water, something that was not included in the Coca-Cola contract.
The Bid Evaluation Committee, who decided on Pepsi, consisted of representatives from different campus organizations including: the Undergraduate Student Government, Graduate Student Organization, Social Justice Alliance, University Procurement and the FSA.
Adhering to the university’s mission for environmental sustainability, the new vending machines’ refrigeration equipment will be more energy-efficient by meeting the Energy Star requirements set by the state, said Kevin Kelly, the executive director of FSA. The machines also have hard-wired controls that convert to a low power consumption mode during periods of inactivity.
Only the vending machines on campus will be operated directly under Pepsi with a planned 25 cents increase in prices in the third and seventh year.
