I guess the fridges are going to get stinky...either that, or people aren't baking....
Posted on 03/09/2006 2:25:29 PM PST by nickcarraway
The next generation may not be the Pepsi generation — or the Coke generation, for that matter.
For years, soda has been the quintessential American drink, considered the perfect thirst quencher, morning pick-me-up or accompaniment to lunch or dinner.
But that is slowly changing.
As Americans look for greater variety in their drinks and strive for healthier diets, consumption of soda — with its 250 calories and 67 grams of sugar in a 20-ounce bottle — is slipping.
Data released yesterday by Beverage Digest, the industry trade publication, shows that for the first time in 20 years, the number of cases of soda sold in the United States declined. Case volume in 2005 was down 0.7 percent, to 10.2 billion cases.
Coke's flagship brand, Coca-Cola Classic, was down 2 percent, and original Pepsi from PepsiCo was down 3.2 percent.
In recent years, soda has come under increasing fire from critics who see it as little more than liquid candy and blame it for contributing to America's looming problem of childhood obesity. Results of a study that was released on Monday link soda to weight gain among teenagers.
While soft drinks are still the country's most heavily consumed beverage, the category is losing ground to bottled water, sports drinks like Gatorade and Powerade and energy drinks like Red Bull and Full Throttle. Last year's volume data for these drinks is not yet available, but John Sicher, publisher of Beverage Digest, said he expected that the growth in these three categories would be up by double digits.
"Traditional carbonated soft drinks have got a tough road ahead," Mr. Sicher said. "The migration to water and sports drinks and other noncarbonated drinks seems to be permanent."
In a research report yesterday, William Pecoriello, a beverage analyst at
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
IBBF! (In Before Bush's Fault)
I keep telling the guys at Coke to give us Diet Coke with Lime and Splenda. Nothing yet.
I guess the fridges are going to get stinky...either that, or people aren't baking....
Nothing beats this stuff.
I don't care what they say - Diet Pepsi, breakfast of champions.
For Lent I gave up soda and buying soda. I told my children I would not be buying any more soda. So far its working out well and I am drinking much more water and flavored water.
They saw the handwriting on this wall a long time ago, that's why the big soda companies have been expanding into non-soda beverages and even non-beverages. Check out these products lists, I don't think they're worried about soda's market share very much.
http://www2.coca-cola.com/brands/brandlist.html
http://www.pepsico.com/PEP_Company/BrandsCompanies/index.cfm
Boy! Do I feel guilty. Around Valentine's Day a report came out which showed a link between aspartame and cancers such as leukemia and lymphoma. I immediately stopped with the Diet Coke (a little more than 2 liters a day). Now, this, coke has lost market share. It's my fault. It's all my fault.
They've learned how to make suckers pay a dollar for a bottle of Dasani and/or Aquafina, which is a much more lucrative market marginwise than soda ever was.
Diet Rite, baby! Still get my cola flavor, but no sugar or caffeine!
Change the Lightbulbs and this cost will be brought back under control!
I find sports and energy drinks to not be tasty at all.
I try to drink as much water as I can, but I will always have pop as well.
I can't stand it when people call it soda...that reeks of New England elitism.
It is POP, dang it. :)
If flavored water okay?
Actually other companies spearheaded the bottled water movement, but Coke was smart enough to see that their success meant soda might not be a cash cow forever and started diversifying. Of course with their marketing and wholesale clout they pretty quickly killed most of the other water competition.
Yikes. Glad I don't drink aspertame...use splenda soft drinks (who knows...may be cancer risk there).
I really wanted to give up DIET COKE, but I am addicted!
Is there a 12 Step?
I love diet rite.
I went cold turkey. Totally astonished my son. And others.
We call it soda in New York--downstate NY, that is--too.
You mean canned burps are fading as a fad?
A buck a can have anything to do with it?
Maybe the obesity factor exceeded the rehydration factor?
Now that GatorAde doesn't taste like dead fish with cherry syrup anymore it's finally making a dent in sales?
Can we just go back to water, wine or beer?
How come there's no cranberry soda?
It is POP, dang it. :)
Bingo. The Splenda is the key for me. I try to stay away from the aspartame as much as possible. I had switched to Diet RC there for awhile. So Coke got me back when they put out a product with Splenda. Now if they can get the Lime/Splenda combo that would be great. I didn't like the Vanilla stuff at all. Cherry is good though.
Interesting map, Karl!
In Minnesota, we call it "pop" just like the map indicates.
Where did you get the map from?
Energy drinks are making a big dent in the sale of sodas at bars?
What about Diet Barq Root Beer? Or Diet IBC?
1 part any kind of pure fruit juice, 1 part club soda or sparkling water. You've got to mix it, but it's worth it.
Can someone explain, regarding the "pop"/"soda" map, who calls soda "Coke"? Since when (and where) is "Coke" a generic name for a carbonated soft drink? Does this mean that grape soda is called "grape coke"?
.
"Coke" is generally the generic term for cola type sodas (ie, Coke, Pepsi and RC) but not sodas in general. I encountered it when I worked in food service because most places carry either Coke or Pepsi but not both and people ask for "Coke" as basically "whichever baaic cola you carry". So grape soda wouldn't be "grape coke" because grape soda isn't a cola.
hmm....
We always call it pop.
I remember seeing a map about this....the midwest seemed to be mainly "pop," the northeast and west coast "soda" and the south, "coke."
I love Root Beer! It does not agree with me.
My fave all time drink from childhood.
I think if I was to drink it now I would drink the non diet as in ordering a RB Float.
Makes me want some warm summer days. :)
I've been drinking more wine lately. Has anybody noticed that wine prices seem to be dropping? I pick up on the bargain wines.
"Coke" is like "band-aid" or "kleenex" in the South.
Southerners are more apt than others to use brand names for products.
It's like this:
"You wanna Coke?"
"Awrite."
"What kind?"
"You got orange or root beer?"
"Naw, just regular Coke and Sprite."
"Gimme a Sprite."
I was always a drinker of regular Pepsi until about 2 years ago when I was diagnosed with sugar, and now drink different flavors of diet Pepsi. I don't care for their diet Pepsi cola. I prefer their diet Pepsi Twist, Vanilla, Wild Cherry, Lime and Pepsi One. I also drink A&W diet Root Beer and diet Creme Soda.
I grew up in Rochester, New York and it was POP there. I moved a couple of hours east of Rochester, and they call it SODA here.
in alabama we say coke....and the map reflects that too...
Grew up calling it "Coke" (mostly West Texas w/ parents from the South), picked up "soda" from my San Antonio born-and-raised husband.
I never knew New Englanders called it soda as well.
Coke could prolly make as much money selling WATER as it does selling sugar water...
Yahoo! Mountain Dew!
That's my favorite.
We called colas "Coke" (RC, Pepsi, Co'Cola). Anything else was a "cold drink" (Tab, Sprite, 7up, flavored drinks).
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I'm a Type II Diabetic who used to drink several sodas a day. I switched to Powerade and (unsweetened) iced tea. Powerade has about 1/4ths the sugar of a Mountain Dew or original Coke. I don't even know about iced tea but, lacking sweeteners, I presume the sugar count is low.
I can't necessarily blame sodas for my condition, though. Fast food staples and desserts are just as culpable.
Then again, I see really obese people who don't have my problems so how can you conclude there is a definitive link?
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