Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Miscellaneous/2013 July 20

= July 20 =

Restauratns having Coke or Pepsi products
I was just wondering: when setting up a restaurant, how does the restaurant owner decide what soft drink product he/she will offer? That is, how do restaurant owners decide if they will offer Coke or Pepsi and what are the factors that affect their decision?

And as a side question, could someone link to an article or website that gives each product's market share worldwide as well as in specific countries? Narutolovehinata5 tccsdnew 12:10, 20 July 2013 (UTC)


 * In the UK, if the restaurant is part of a chain, they won't have a choice at individual level as the decision of which soft drinks provider to have has been made at national level. --TammyMoet (talk) 12:35, 20 July 2013 (UTC)


 * In that case, what are the factor which allow the chain to decide? Narutolovehinata5 tccsdnew 12:46, 20 July 2013 (UTC)


 * Each company's distributor offers conditions, including supply and delivery schedule, advertising, credit for returing damaged goods, sales incentives and of course the profit margin. If the product is manufactured and marketed by a conglomerate, there may be related products involved in a package of terms. The owner or manager will contract with the company providing the most favorable terms.-- Deborahjay (talk) 14:29, 20 July 2013 (UTC)


 * Plus customer demand. In the UK people tend to ask for a Coke (I've never heard anyone ask for a Pepsi in a restaurant), and it comes in a glass; whether that is what they are actually given is another matter.--Shantavira|feed me 14:35, 20 July 2013 (UTC)
 * Actually legally they are supposed to ask if pepsi is ok - many moons ago the place I used to work at had Pepsi on tap and Coke in bottles. If somebody asked for a coke we were required to ask if pepsi was ok, or they could have a bottle of coke. (99% of people went with the pepsi btw, it was cheaper)-- Jac 16888 Talk 14:39, 20 July 2013 (UTC)
 * To add to what has been said about the UK, many chains of restaurants are owned by the big brewery companies and they are closely tied in with the Coca Cola company or Pepsi. Even an independent restaurant will probably buy all its drinks from a supplier that will have a connection with one or the other. Itsmejudith (talk)


 * Most joints in the US will have an exclusive distribution deal with one carrier or another to get a discounted rate, often with the distributor maintaining the fountains or a reach-in fridge or both for the store. Or they can pay more and offer both--but that's rare outside bodegas in NYC. μηδείς (talk) 21:12, 20 July 2013 (UTC)
 * The gas station chain Speedway makes a selling point of the fact that they offer both Coke and Pepsi fountain beverages. It took me a while to realize that was what they meant by the slogan "unRIVALed refreshment" (emphasis theirs). Howicus (talk) 00:00, 21 July 2013 (UTC)


 * Itsmejudith's comparison to brewery-owned places is very apt in this case. Yum! Brands, owners of Taco Bell, KFC, and Pizza Hut, is a former division of PepsiCo. Yum's article claims "Yum! Brands has a lifetime contract with PepsiCo", although it doesn't cite a source. -- Finlay McWalterჷTalk 00:30, 21 July 2013 (UTC)


 * The above answers mostly focus on multi-unit chains stores (which makes sense, as those are the biggest movers). For family restaurant owners, there are a number of options. You can, of course, offer both Coke and Pepsi. This is seen sometimes in smaller servers like fry stands and hot dog carts, etc. The reason why they do it is two-fold: one, they can be different from the McD's and KFCs that only offer one chain and two, they almost certainly buy their product using a completely different setup and often a completely different distribution channel. Buying Coke or Pepsi from a foodservice distributor is surprisingly expensive; way more expensive than buying from the market and perhaps twice the price of those big box bulk stores. The reason why is that Coke and Pepsi very much want to be exclusive to your store, so they charge a high initial price to the distributor and then allow the restauranteur to debit them back a rather generous amount provided they stay exclusive. The hot dog cart guy may not meet the minimums to qualify for the plan, so they're much further ahead to just buy their soda pop from the same place everyone else does (i.e. the local grocery store). Most family restaurants would qualify and thereby reap the benefits: it's not worth paying 50% more for your beverages unless you have a very compelling draw to do so. Provided they meet the quite modest minimums, they'll also get all kinds of swag (neon signs, light-up thermometers, giveaways) - just so that Coke will rest easy in knowing that no Pepsi items are lurking in your tavern. The same kind of set up also occurs with other foodstuff (like french fries), but it's not nearly so cut-throat a business. Matt Deres (talk) 02:49, 21 July 2013 (UTC)
 * Then why not just buy supermarket own brand cola, I find most of them taste pretty much the same. 213.104.128.16 (talk) 12:56, 25 July 2013 (UTC)

Shabraque image
I've been tinkering with our Shabrack article, which was the slimmest of stubs consisting of a one-line dictionary definition (it's a fancy saddle-cloth) and this image. I've only ever heard of a shabraque (the more common spelling) as a military accoutrement, and the only sources I could find relate to military use. I know next to nothing about horses except which end the hay goes in, and am wondering if the illustrated item is really a shabrack or shabraque in English and whether it actually belongs in the article. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Alansplodge (talk) 19:26, 20 July 2013 (UTC)
 * "I know two things about the horse, and one of them is rather coarse." (Belloc). Sincerest apologies for this most inappropriate of posts to the Jowett of the reference desk. Tevildo (talk) 22:29, 20 July 2013 (UTC)
 * Fact-checking, based on the fear that the quote was actually from Nash, has revealed to this cat that the originator was in fact one Naomi Royde-Smith, on whom we don't have an article. /me curls up and dies. Tevildo (talk) 22:38, 20 July 2013 (UTC)
 * More Pooter than Jowett I'm afraid. It did sound like Belloc - I started the Cautionary Tales for Children article. Alansplodge (talk) 00:41, 21 July 2013 (UTC)
 * WPEQ here. Truth is, most of us in the real world would call that a saddle blanket or saddle cloth.  However, military folks still use them (such as the Royal Canadian Mounted Police equestrian units) and the photo above IS of the style and shape associated with the shabrack, which is the common North American spelling (even in Canada) See: , .  I made a couple edits to the article to do a minor cleanup, always room for improvement and thanks!   Montanabw (talk) 18:53, 21 July 2013 (UTC)


 * Many thanks. Alansplodge (talk) 18:58, 21 July 2013 (UTC)