No More Pepsi At KFC, Come Coca-Cola

Cooperation between KFC Indonesia and Coca-Cola (Photo: Diah Ayu Wardani / VOI)

JAKARTA - Pepsi soft drink is no longer produced in Indonesia. This beverage brand has been a friend for several years of ready-to-eat food, including KFC.

Because of this polemic, KFC Indonesia proposed Coca-Cola Amatil Indonesia as a soda drink to replace Pepsi. As of today, KFC will serve Coca-Cola for the next five years on their menu.

The cooperation between KFC and Coca Cola was stated in the signing of the memorandum of understanding carried out by the President Director of Coca-Cola Amatil Indonesia Kadir Gunduz and KFC Indonesia CEO Shiva Pandey.

"Through this collaboration, consumers can enjoy Coca-cola, Sprite, and Fanta beverage products with a variety of KFC chicken menus in more than 700 outlets throughout Indonesia," said Shiva at KFC Galael, Jalan MT Haryono, South Jakarta, Friday, December 13. .

There is one thing that KFC holds, as well as several other fast food restaurants such as McDonald's, Burger King, and several others. They champion soft drinks as a complement to the main food in the form of fried chicken or burgers. Usually, this match is made into one purchase package.

The choice of soft drinks as a friend of fast food is not without reason. Shiva said, since KFC was founded 40 years, consumers prefer soft drinks. Although there are many other types of drinks available, Shiva admits that the sales ratio of one type of soft drink to another is 50:50.

That reason makes KFC stick to soft drinks, by returning to work with Coca-cola after relying on Pepsi for a long time.

"Carbonate drink is one of the best tasting with fried chicken. That's why we use Coca-Cola. Since a long time ago, fried chicken or burgers have been matched with carbonated drinks. This is what consumers are looking for," said Shiva.

"Actually, if he is looking for something else, we will give him options. Such as float, mineral water, or sweet tea. Please choose," he continued.

Separately, nutritionist Jansen Ongko admits that there are other objectives in choosing soft drinks in fast food restaurants besides the economic side that benefits the company.

According to him, soft drinks can evoke the sensation of their own on the tongue of those who drink them. Soft drinks contain high sugar levels which can instantly elevate your mood and make your tongue feel comfortable and addictive.

"The comfort that comes from eating this food menu combination will encourage consumers to be more loyal to return to that place. That sensation is the reason why people love soda drinks," said Jansen when contacted by VOI.

Although drinking carbonated drinks, especially when the weather is hot, is really delicious, Jansen does not recommend drinking carbonated drinks in excess.

"Not healthy. Soft drinks can easily lead to excess calories leading to obesity or obesity," he added.

The departure of Pepsi in Indonesia occurred on October 10, when PT Anugerah Indofood Barokah Makmur (AIBM) agreed to end its contract with PepsiCo Inc (PepsiCo). Since then, AIBM has stopped producing, selling and distributing PepsiCo products.

Launching a CNBC Indonesia article entitled Pepsi Leaving from Indonesia, allegedly due to Excise and Health Issues, Chairman of the Standing Committee for the Food and Protein Processing Industry Thomas Darmawan said, Pepsi resigned from Indonesia for several reasons. "The water is taxed, carbon, plastics are subject to excise. So in the end he thought, I'll go out for a while from Indonesia," said Thomas, Friday, October 4.

On the other hand, market considerations can also be another reason. Moreover, the trend of consumers enjoying tea and coffee has begun to increase. Conversely, there are concerns about the health risks of consuming carbonated drinks.

"That may be because people know that drinking carbonated drinks poses a health risk because the sugar is high. This is a possible consideration, how come Indofood's partner has resigned," said Thomas.

"So there are economic considerations, rather than us being constrained. I do not know exactly (why the Pepsi and AIBM contracts ended) but there are considerations, the benefits are not appropriate, so it is temporarily terminated," said Thomas.