Coca-Cola Classic and Pepsi remained the two most popular carbonated soft drink brands even though consumers bought less of each of them, according to two independent reports. Diet soft drinks outpaced regular soft drinks in 2001, thanks to strong growth by Diet Pepsi, Diet Coke and Diet Dr Pepper. Flavored soft drinks, such as orange, cherry and root beer, grew faster than colas. Austria's Red Bull joined the ranks of the top 10 U.S. carbonated soft drink companies for the first time in 2001.
Moderator Comment: How should retailers manage the soft drink category to generate maximum customer traffic while promoting margins at the same time?
The soft drink market is a mirror to virtually every consumer trend there is. The category is both impulse-driven (single serve) and planned purchase (take-home). It is consumed by itself or added-on to other food purchases. Soft drinks are key to on-the-go meals/snacking trend.
Various products appeal to younger consumers (and older), different genders, and ethnic groups. From CSDs, bottled water, sports drinks, etc. there are products for those motivated by health concerns (or not), brands, price, etc. Vending units, cold cases, fountain, in-aisle departments, end-caps, lobby displays, gas pump displays, you name it and retailers are using it to drive traffic. Many still complain about the margins for the overall category, however. Will consumers continue to purchase at higher price points or are there other ways to achieve profit goals? [George Anderson - Moderator]