Well there was a drop in U.S.soft-drink sales, but the drop was less than previous years, as consumers switched from expensive juices and teas and back to less-expensive soda.
Soft-drink sales fell 2.1% in 2009, compared with a 3% decline in 2008 and a 2.3% drop in 2007, according to Beverage Digest, an industry publication and data service that tracks soft-drink sales in supermarkets and other retail outlets, vending machines and restaurants.
Soda sales may have fallen for five years in a row, but the fact that the drop in sales has slowed was a bit of good news for the industry.
Coca-Cola was still the best selling soft drink in 2009, but its market share fell 0.3 percentage point to 17%.
After years as the third most-popular soda, Diet Coke reached a near tie with Pepsi-Cola for the No. 2 spot, with 936.3 million and 936.4 million cases respectively. Diet Coke and Pepsi-Cola both scored a 9.9% market share last year.
Among the top 10 soda brands, only Diet Mountain Dew, marketed by PepsiCo Inc., and Diet Dr Pepper posted growth.
Bottled-water sales have declined two yearsr in a row, after a decade of great sales.
However, Nestlé Pure Life, a line of water you'll find in retailers such as Wal-Mart Stores Inc., enjoyed a 14.6% increase in volume.
