U.S. Soft Drink Sales Fall Again
March 30, 2009 by Allison Boyer
Filed under Business
For the fourth year in a row, soda-pop sales are down for the fourth year in a row. The nation’s two largest soft drink companies, Coca-Cola Co. and PepsiCo Inc. both have reported losses, and according to Beverage Digest, total volume of sales fell 3% in 2008.
When that drop is combined with the declines seen over the past four years, the industry has seen a fall of 6%. That means that the gains made between 1997 and 2004, a peak for the industry, has all but disappeared. Companies only sold about 9.6 billion cases of soda last year, while in 2004, they sold over 10.2 billion cases. Of the top ten most popular sodas in the country, only Diet Mountain Dew saw an increase in sales in 2008.
The slow economy isn’t the only reason the soft drink industry has seen falls in sales. People are also increasing interested in healthier alternatives to soda, including energy drinks and enhanced water. The coming months, as the weather warms, will be important for companies in 2009. We’ve already seen a number of new marketing campaigns to help soda companies sell more product.
Image via sxc.hu.
