Take Me To Your Liter

By Matthew Rupel

The Santa Clara battle for beverages has begun.

Santa Clara Auxiliary Services released a survey today to gather student preference for on-campus refreshments in preparation for the end of the university's contract with PepsiCo this summer. The survey compares the product line from two major beverage suppliers, Coca Cola and PepsiCo, and will be available until May 1.

"I like Pepsi better, but I think Coke has more options," said senior Allie Norris. 

Student opinion is the number one factor that will influence the decision for the supplier, according to Jane Barrantes, vice president of auxiliary services.  "We want to pick something that students want to drink," she said.

The most popular product line is the primary objective for a beverage vendor, but sustainable practices, fair labor practices and competitive pricing are also considered, according to Barrantes.

Junior Tomomi Menjo wanted to know which option would be cheaper. "We spend all this money on tuition already," she said.

It may not even come down to Coke v. Pepsi in the refreshment wrestle.

Although Coke tends to edge out Pepsi in most national studies for soda consumption, the university has to consider the entire product line of the brand. For instance, students can currently purchase Gatorade and Naked products, but a contract with Coke would mean students would buy Powerade and Odwalla instead. Santa Clara does allot 15 percent of shelf space for competitive products, which is why students can purchase beverages like Dr. Pepper in The Cellar now.

"I don't really drink soda," said junior Stephanie Lucas. "For me, it's really about water and juice."

A report from auxiliary services verifies that soda is low on the list of student priorities. Soda only accounted for 17 percent of beverage sales this past year. Twenty-four percent of all sales went to water, and another 30 percent was taken up by juices, flavored milks and other miscellaneous drinks.

Some student groups have to consider sponsorship rights. Ruff Riders, the dance team and the pep band are all sponsored by Pepsi for $5,000 each year, but this sponsorship would likely not continue if the university switched to Coke. Quin Adler, the co-president of the pep band, said that he wouldn't look forward to a change in vendor because of the existing relationship with Pepsi. "Developing a new one would suck," he said.

For some students, it's a matter of ethics. This past year, Pepsi finally switched to compostable cups. Students at Santa Clara made a large push to transition the cups, and some are worried that changing suppliers could lead to less sustainable policies.

Green Club made a big push for the movement to transition to compostable cups last. Junior Sandy Ledesma, who is on the board of Green Club, said that if Coke wasn't able to provide compostable cups, then there would be a strong student push-back.

Coca Cola did gather attention in 2009 when they debuted compostable paper cups at the University of Washington, although Coca Cola is still referring to this as a "pilot program."

The different sustainability practices of the companies bidding for the contract will be outlined in their proposal.

The company also began to roll out its PlantBottle line of packaging two years ago, a fully recyclable bottle partially made from plant material. The bottles are not compostable; however the Coca Cola website claims that they reduce potential carbon dioxide emissions and dependence on fossil fuels.

When Pepsi became the supplier for the university seven years ago, Pepsi did not have compostable paper cups. Coke does not currently have a widespread solution for compostable cups, although they are available in limited locations.

Contact Matt Rupel at mrupel@scu.edu or (408) 554-4849.