Document and Entity Information - USD ($)	12 Months Ended
	Jan. 03, 2016	Mar. 04, 2016	Jun. 26, 2015
Document Information [Line Items]
Document Type	10-K
Amendment Flag	false
Document Period End Date	Jan. 03, 2016
Document Fiscal Year Focus	2015
Document Fiscal Period Focus	FY
Trading Symbol	COKE
Entity Registrant Name	COCA COLA BOTTLING CO CONSOLIDATED /DE/
Entity Central Index Key	0000317540
Current Fiscal Year End Date	--01-03
Entity Well-known Seasoned Issuer	No
Entity Current Reporting Status	Yes
Entity Voluntary Filers	No
Entity Filer Category	Accelerated Filer
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding		7,141,447
Entity Public Float			$ 693,972,379
Class B Common Stock [Member]
Document Information [Line Items]
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding		2,150,782