However, economic troubles caused by World War I bankrupted Bradham, who had to sell PepsiCo for a fraction of what it was worth. Since then, the company has never been under North Carolinian ownership.
Despite his financial troubles, Bradham continued to finance the Bradham Prize until 1930.
UNC and Pepsi
According to a Request for Proposal sent in 2024, beverage vendors are promised exclusive pouring rights throughout campus, save for select locations, for five years.
Some exceptions include UNC athletics events, the Carolina Inn and Granville Towers.
Over 60 years, UNC has gone through different beverage vendors, including the Durham Coca-Cola Bottling Co. and its subsidiary, Classic Food Services, Marriott Corp. and Pepsi Bottling Ventures.
In 2004, under former Chancellor James Moeser, the University awarded Pepsi a preferred vendor contract for drink services, receiving a total of $5.25 million over five years, which went toward funding the Carolina Covenant scholarship and alleviating the debt incurred building Rams Head Recreation Center.
Moeser oversaw a similar agreement at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, where he was the chancellor prior to his arrival at UNC.
Pepsi’s current agreement allows for Coca-Cola to be served on campus, so long as 80 percent of the overall brand mix is Pepsi, Media Relations wrote in a statement to The DTH.
UNC Media Relations wrote that nobody from Pepsi was available to speak to The DTH.
PepsiCo and DEI
In January, the Trump administration issued executive orders to eliminate diversity, equity and inclusion programs within the federal government.
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In one of the orders, federal agencies are tasked to identify organizations violating the policy, including publicly traded and Fortune 500 companies — categories that PepsiCo falls under. Universities that receive federal grants or participate in federal student loan assistance program are also subject to this.
Last year, a total of 59 DEI positions were eliminated after the UNC System repealed its DEI policy.
In February, PepsiCo announced that it would be scaling back on its DEI commitments. The news broke after Robby Starbuck, a conservative social media influencer and activist, posted about the company's removal of some DEI practices.
“We're seeing these pressures being put on organizations from anti-DEI influencers and activists, including shareholder activists, as well as from federal and state governments,” Allison Schlobohm, a Kenan-Flagler Business School associate professor of management and corporate communication, said.
PepsiCo CEO Ramon Laguarta wrote in a memo sent to employees that inclusion remains important to the corporation.
Similar companies, like Coca-Cola ,have reaffirmed their commitments to DEI practices.
Schlobohm said it is difficult to distinguish policy motivations between companies, but some companies are going farther than others in terms of compliance and over-compliance with these orders.
“When I try to find diversity reports from Pepsi from previous years, any link goes now to their new website about inclusion, or ‘inclusion for growth,’” Schlobohm said.
Companies have been very reactive in this current climate, she said. For some organizations, Schlobohm said, a diverse workforce is not necessarily something that is ingrained in their bones.
“If organizations truly stop being committed to building workplaces that are representative of the U.S. demographics,” Schlobohm said. “If they stop building workplaces where people from all backgrounds and social identity groups can thrive, then they're going to get left behind.”
Pepsi’s current contract with UNC is set to expire in 2029.
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