Soft drink brands have gained immense popularity all over the world and are considered the key growth drivers in the beverage industry with an expected CAGR of 5.2%. Revenues in the soft drink industry have reached 0.85 trillion USD and are expected to cross the 1 trillion mark very soon.
The beverage industry has been led by a large number of companies that are offering drinks like tea, coffee, carbonated water, sodas, juices and soft drinks. In recent years there has been a widespread health concern related to soft drink consumption because of the high amount of caffeine, carbonated water, sweetener and artificial flavoring.
Popular soft drink brands have started adding healthier options and alternatives to their product portfolio. This move has led to the revival of soft drink companies amongst consumers once again.
An Overview of 10 Popular Soft Drink Brands in the World in 2023 Based on Market Revenues
1. PepsiCo
- Origin Country: USA
- Founded: 1898
- Founder: Caleb Bradham
- Headquarters: New York, USA
- Employees in 2022: 309,000
- Annual Revenue in 2022: 79.470 billion USD
- Net Income in 2022: 7.610 billion USD
- Market Value in 2022: 240.690 billion USD
- Market Cap in 2022: 216.150 billion USD
PepsiCo is the most popular soft drink brand in the world in 2022 based on market revenues. The American multinational company is associated with the food and beverage industry and deals in marketing, manufacturing and distribution of its product offerings.
PepsiCo has spread its product presence to nearly 200+ countries and has 23 brands like Gatorade, Tropicana (orange juice), Pepsi, Diet Pepsi, Mountain Dew, Sierra Mist and Diet Mountain Dew with 1 billion USD in sales. Based on market cap, net revenue and profit PepsiCo is the 2nd largest food and beverage company in the world.
Besides the traditional soft drinks that have carbonated water, caffeine and sweetener, PepsiCo also serves several variants like caffeine-free, sugar-free, natural flavours without any carbs or chemicals and orange juice to lure in health-conscious consumers in the market.
Popular brands and product offerings in the PepsiCo beverage category:
- Diet Mountain Dew or Diet MNT Dew – citrus flavour caffeine-free soft drink
- MTN Dew Original – refreshing taste
- Diet Pepsi – soft drink free of carbs, calories and sugar with a crisp, refreshing and light taste
- Pepsi – subtle citrusy taste in various flavours like wild cherry
- Gatorade – sports drink in flavours like Gatorade Lemon Flavor and Gatorade orange flavour
- Sierra Mist – soft drinks and sodas in various flavours like lemon-lime and orange
2. Unilever
- Origin Country: United Kingdom
- Founded: 2nd September 1929
- Headquarters: London, England
- Employees: 149,000
- Annual Revenue in 2022: 52.92 billion USD
- Net Income in 2022: 7.157 billion USD
- Market Value in 2022: 137.220 billion USD
- Market Cap: 112.30 billion USD
The Dutch-British consumer goods company Unilever is one of the most popular soft drink brands in the world based on market revenues. It has spread its presence in 190 countries with help of products that include personal care, beauty products, beverages, food, ice cream and condiments.
Unilever operates under three divisions, home care, foods and refreshments and beauty and personal care. Some of the top Unilever beverage brands are popular all over the world making the parent brand the 3rd largest consumer goods company in the world based on revenues.
Popular brands and product offerings in the beverage category:
- Lipton – tea
- Bru – instant coffee
- Jif – lemon and lime juice
- Buavita – fruit juice
3. The Coca-Cola Company
- Origin Country: USA
- Founded: 1892
- Headquarters: Atlanta, USA
- Employees in 2022: 80,300
- Annual Revenue in 2022: 38,665 billion USD
- Net Income in 2022: 9.771 billion USD
- Market Value in 2022: 260.590 billion USD
- Market Cap in 2022: 243.070 billion USD
The Coca-Cola Company is placed at the third position in the list of the most popular soft drink brands in the world based on revenues. The American multinational corporation is associated with the beverage industry and deals in manufacturing, selling and marketing syrups, non-alcoholic beverage concentrates and alcoholic beverages.
The Coca-Cola Company is best known for its most popular soft drink Coca-Cola. It has more than 500 brands of teas, sports drinks, water products, fruit juices and soft drinks in its portfolio.
Fanta, Sprite and Coke are leading soft drink brands operating under the Coca-Cola Company. According to statistics, Coca-Cola Classic is the most popular soft drink in the world.
Popular brands and product offerings in the beverage category of Coca-Cola Company:
• Fanta – fruit-flavoured soft drink in various flavours like orange, strawberry, pineapple etc.
• Coke Zero or Coca-Cola Zero Sugar – sugar-free and calorie-free soft drink in cherry, vanilla, orange vanilla and cherry vanilla flavor
• Sprite – Sprite is a lemon-lime colourless soft drink with refreshing flavours and sugar-free options
• Coca-Cola Classic – super refreshing and delicious taste in a large number of flavour options
• Diet Coke – zero calories and various fresh flavours
4. Asahi Group Holdings Ltd
- Origin Country: Japan
- Previous name: Osaka Breweries Ltd
- Founded: 1889
- Headquarters: Sumida, Tokyo, Japan
- Annual Revenue in 2022: 19.73 billion USD
- Market Cap in 2022: 2.11 trillion JPY
The Japanese company Asahi Group Holdings Ltd is the fourth-largest popular soft drink brand in the world based on revenues. It is associated with the beverage industry and deals in beer, spirits, juice, tea, coffee, bottled water and soft drinks.
Asahi Group Holdings’ business operations are segmented into various sections with the alcoholic beverage and soft drinks businesses occupying 40.5% and 17.2% market shares respectively.
Popular brands and product offerings in the beverage category of Asahi Group Holdings Ltd-
- Wilkinson – sparkling water
- Jurokucha – blended tea
- Calpis – lactic acid drink
- Mitsuya Cider – carbonated beverage
- Oisiimizu – natural mineral water
5. Keurig Dr Pepper Inc.
- Origin Country: United States of America
- Predecessor: Dr Pepper Snapple Group
- Founded: 1981
- Founder: Robert Stiller
- Headquarters: Burlington, USA
- Employees in 2022: 27,500
- Annual Revenue in 2022: 13.645 billion USD
- Net Income in 2022: 1.826 billion USD
- Market Cap in 2022: 53.05 billion USD
Keurig Dr Pepper Inc. was formed in the year 2018 with the merger of Keurig Green Mountain and Dr Pepper Snapple Group (formerly Dr Pepper/7Up Inc.) The American conglomerate is associated with the beverage industry and is placed at 5th position in the list of the largest and most popular soft drink brands in the world based on revenues.
Keurig Dr Pepper Inc. offers 125 cold and hot beverages as part of its product offerings. It sells juices, sodas and soft drinks through Dr Pepper Snapple Group based in Texas.
Popular brands and product offerings in the beverage category of Dr Pepper Snapple Group:
- Dr Pepper – carbonated soft drink in various flavours and variants like Diet Dr Pepper
- 7Up – Lemon-lime flavoured caffeine-free soft drink
- Sun Drop – citrus-flavoured soft drink
- RC Cola – cola in cherry and lemon flavours
6. Kofola
- Origin Country: Czechoslovakia
- Founder: Jan Kofol, Petr Hruska and Vaclav Kubu
- Founded: 1992
- Headquarters: Ostrava, Czech Republic
- Annual Revenue in 2022: 6.99 billion USD
Kofola is placed at 6th position in the list of the largest and most popular soft drink brands in the world based on revenues. It is associated with the beverage industry and produces fresh fruit juices UGO, spring water Rajec, children’s drink Jupik and RC Cola, syrups Jupi and soft drinks Rofola.
Product lines include
- Kofola Original – caffeine free
- Kofola Citrus – caffeine-free soft drink with a hint of citrus
- Kofola Visnova – sour cherry flavour
7. Monster Beverage
- Origin Country: United States of America
- Founder: Hubert Hansen
- Owner: The Coca-Cola Company
- Founded: 1935
- Headquarters: Corona, California, USA
- Employees in 2022: 4,092
- Annual Revenue in 2022: 6.223 billion USD
- Net Income in 2022: 1.211 billion USD
- Market Cap in 2022: 52.11 billion USD
Monster Beverage is one of the most popular soft drink brands in the world that manufactures juices, most popular sodas, soft drinks and energy drinks. As of the year 2020, the American company holds 39% of the energy drink market in the US after Red Bull.
The multinational company operates as an independent licensee of the Monster Energy brand. It has offices in Dallas, Sydney, Sao Paulo etc. and a manufacturing plant in Riverside Country that produces beverages.
Product lines include
- Monster Energy
- Relentless
- NOS
- Reign
8. Arizona Beverage Company
- Origin Country: United States of America
- Founder: Don Vultaggio, John Ferolito
- Founded: 1971
- Headquarters: Woodbury, New York, U.S.
- Employees in 2022: 10,000
- Annual Revenue in 2022: 3 billion USD
Arizona Beverage Company is one of the most popular soft drink brands that serves its customers mainly in the USA, Mexico and Canada. The American company is associated with the beverage industry and produces energy drinks, juice cocktails, iced tea along with soft drinks.
Besides being one of the most popular distributors of beverages, Arizona Beverage Company also distributes tortilla chip products and a line of fruit snacks.
Product line includes
- Tea
- Coffee
- Green Tea
- Juice
- Diet
- Big Cans
9. Primo Water Corporation
- Origin Country: United States of America
- Founder: Frank Pannam
- Owner: Nestle Waters North America (NWNA)
- Founded: 1987
- Headquarters: Florida, U.S.
- Annual Revenue in 2022: 2.1 billion USD
- Market Cap in 2022: 2.74 billion CAD
Primo Water Corporation is placed at 9th position in the list of the top and most popular soft drink brands in the world in 2022. The company has spread its presence to 21 countries through 24,000 locations.
Primo Water Corporation is a water solutions provider that offers innovative water dispensers at different price points. It offers its customers access to mineral, spring and purified water through retailers and online platforms.
Product offerings include
- Water Direct
- Water Refill
- Water Exchange
10. Britvic
- Origin Country: United Kingdom
- Founded: 1845
- Headquarters: England, UK
- Employees in 2022: 4,113
- Annual Revenue in 2022: 1.9 billion USD
- Market Cap in 2022: 1.95 billion GBP
Britvic Plc is placed in 10th position as the most popular soft drink brand in the world in 2022. The British company produces soft drinks in Great Britain, Ireland, France and Brazil and exports them to nearly 100 countries all over the world.
Britvic Plc produces nearly 1600 products and occupies around 5% of the total market share. It produces soft drinks under its own label and several other brands. The company has an exclusive license with another popular soft drink brand PepsiCo to make and sell 7UP, Pepsi Max, Lipton Ice Tea and Rockstar Energy.
Popular brands and product offerings in the beverage category of Britvic Plc –
- Tango
- Britvic 55
- Cidona
- C&C Lemonade
- Club
- R White’s Lemonade
- Purdey’s
Conclusion
The top soft drink brands in the world in 2022 are focused on diversified product offerings so that they can cater to a large number of consumers that include both traditional soft drink lovers and the ones who are looking for healthier options.
The top soft drinks in the world in 2022 are
- Coca-Cola
- Pepsi
- Diet Coke
- Dr Pepper
- Mountain Dew
- Sprite
- Diet Pepsi
- Coke Zero
- Fanta
- Diet Mountain Dew
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