Soda consumption in the United States fell to a 31-year low in 2016, according to Beverage-Digest. That decline can mainly be attributed to waning demand among health-conscious consumers.
Here's how much each drink category grew between 2015 and 2016, according to the Beverage Marketing Corporation.
Data source: BMC. Chart by author.
The theme is easy to spot: Lower-calorie products like value-added water (sparkling, flavored, and "enhanced" waters), bottled water, coffee, and tea are attracting more shoppers. Higher-calorie products, like sugary sodas and fruit beverages, are fading.
That would seem like terrible news for Coca-Cola (KO 0.78%) and PepsiCo (PEP 1.18%), but both companies have been diversifying away from sodas with bottled water, teas, sports drinks, and other higher-growth beverages.
Coca-Cola has exposure to the energy drink market through a large stake in Monster Beverage, and PepsiCo is well-diversified in packaged foods with Quaker and Frito-Lay products. The soda market will likely remain challenging, but shrewd companies will roll with the punches and change up their product mix.
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