Beverage Giants Ride Out Softening Soda Market

Soda makers have continued to expand their offerings over the past few years, which has been a smart move for business since soft-drink sales in America fell yet again in 2011, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports. That marks seven consecutive years where the numbers have spiraled downward.

While the market has slumped to 1996 levels, Coca-Cola continues to ride atop with Coke and Diet Coke topping third-place Pepsi, AJC notes. 

Beverage Digest has it that “volume for the carbonated drinks segment was down 1 percent in 2011,” which follows a “0.5 percent drop in 2010,” according to the paper. This sets industry volume back to where it was in 1996 at about 9.3 billion of 192-ounce cases.

Don’t shed a tear for the beverage giants, however. Non-carbonated drinks are doing just fine.

According to Beverage Digest, “energy drink companies Monster, Red Bull and Rockstar saw double-digit increases last year while sales volume for ‘mega brands’ such as Gatorade, a Pepsi product, and Arizona, a tea, were up 8 percent and 9.3 percent respectively,” the AJC reports.

Coke's Dasani bottled water brand also went up 11 percent, making it the “ fastest growing bottled water of the major brands.”