I think the bottom line is people will, over the holidays, heavily consume soft drinks, bottled water, teas and juices.
I think people have a growing interest in beverages which are lighter and have actual or perceived functional benefit. I think we've seen a decline in regular soft drinks for some time.
The antitrust laws would make it hard for Coke and Pepsi to buy more carbonated soft drinks brands.
Traditional carbonated soft drinks have got a tough road ahead. The migration to water and sports drinks and other noncarbonated drinks seems to be permanent.
Turner is simply one of the best in the U.S. beverage business. Growing carbonated soft drinks today is a challenge, and Turner is very well equipped to do that with Big Red.
Between Coke and Pepsi, Coke's innovation pipeline was stronger in carbonated soft drinks. That made the difference. But fundamentally, both these companies need to be moving in the noncarbonated direction.
But soft drinks sales overall are holding up well, ... If you're looking at the first-quarter U.S. volume growth this year for both Coca-Cola and PepsiCo, it's important to consider that other factors were at play including bad weather and anti-U.S. sentiment around the world.
But soft drinks sales overall are holding up well. If you're looking at the first-quarter U.S. volume growth this year for both Coca-Cola and PepsiCo, it's important to consider that other factors were at play including bad weather and anti-U.S. sentiment around the world.
The carbonated soft drink category is fundamentally in trouble. I anticipate there will be some sporadic growth of a few regular brands and some diets, but the outlook doesn't look good for the category.