Soft Drinks Hit 10th Year in Decline

3/27/15
 
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from The Wall Street Journal,
3/26/15:

Coke remained the top-selling U.S. soda by volume in 2014, Beverage Digest says

Overall U.S. soda consumption contracted 0.9%, the 10th straight yearly decline, as health-conscious consumers drop traditional carbonated drinks for everything from water to energy drinks to tea.

Pepsi-Cola supplanted Diet Coke as the No. 2 soda brand in the U.S. by volume in 2014 as Americans continued to flee diet soft drinks, according to industry data published Thursday.

The reversal highlights the mounting woes of diet soda, which have fallen more sharply in the U.S. than full-calorie soda in each of the last four years. More consumers are concerned about the health impact of artificial, zero-calorie sweeteners such as aspartame even though the Food and Drug Administration says such sweeteners are safe.

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