Pouring Rights and Vending Services for South Dakota State Univ.

South Dakota State University (SDSU) has issued a Request for Proposal to procure pouring rights and vending services for its Brookings campus, serving an institution with 12,139 students and approximately 2,002 employees. The procurement seeks vendors to provide beverage and snack vending machines (approximately 113 machines across 46 buildings), fountain dispensers for food service areas and athletic concession stands, and beverage stock for campus convenience stores. SDSU contracts food service operations to Sodexo, and the proposed vending and pouring rights must align with this existing partnership. Vendors may submit proposals for any combination of four packages: Package A (Pouring Rights), Package B (Vending Rights), Package C (Isotonic Beverage Rights), and Package D (Exclusive Athletic Sponsorship Rights). Beverages must include carbonated drinks, fruit drinks, mineral water, bottled water, iced tea, sports drinks, energy drinks, and isotonic beverages. Key deadlines include site visits scheduled for April 29 through May 5, 2026; questions due by May 12, 2026 at 5:00 PM CDT; responses provided by May 19, 2026 at 5:00 PM CDT; and proposal submissions due by email to Karen Bravek at Karen.Bravek@sdstate.edu no later than May 29, 2026 at 2:00 PM CDT, with an anticipated award decision on June 15, 2026. Contractors must furnish all equipment including Energy Star certified machines, provide 365-day annual service with maximum 24-hour response times, handle all maintenance and merchandise costs, and carry commercial general liability insurance of at least $1,000,000 per occurrence, professional liability insurance of at least $1,000,000, business automobile liability insurance of at least $1,000,000 per accident, and workers' compensation insurance as required by South Dakota law.

The RFP does not indicate any specific set-aside designations or restrictions limiting responses to disadvantaged enterprises or particular organizational categories. The contract term options are either five years with two renewable five-year options (not to exceed 15 years total) or ten years with one renewable five-year option (not to exceed 15 years total). Annual financial contributions must be submitted on the Financial Contribution Data Sheet and should include proposed annual payments for pouring rights, vending rights, and sponsorship contributions with specified annual escalation rates. Payments for pouring rights, isotonic, and athletic sponsorship rights commence annually on July 1, 2026, while vending payments are made quarterly on July 1, October 1, January 1, and April 1 of each contract year. SDSU will provide existing 110-volt electrical service and water service at no cost to the contractor, while the contractor assumes responsibility for all merchandise costs, equipment installation and removal, licensing, permits, taxes, storage space, and employee compensation. No specific award values or budget ranges are disclosed in the procurement documents, and SDSU reserves the right to negotiate proposals and make single or multiple awards as deemed in its best interest.