The Decline of ‘Big Soda’

[Jesus Malverde]

Over the last 20 years, sales of full-calorie soda in the United States have plummeted by more than 25 percent. Soda consumption, which rocketed from the 1960s through 1990s, is now experiencing a serious and sustained decline.

Sales are stagnating as a growing number of Americans say they are actively trying to avoid the drinks that have been a mainstay of American culture. Sales of bottled water have shot up, and bottled water is now on track to overtake soda as the largest beverage category in two years, according to at least one industry projection.

The drop in soda consumption represents the single largest change in the American diet in the last decade and is responsible for a substantial reduction in the number of daily calories consumed by the average American child. From 2004 to 2012, children consumed 79 fewer sugar-sweetened beverage calories a day, according to a large government survey, representing a 4 percent cut in calories over all. As total calorie intake has declined, obesity rates among school-age children appear to have leveled off.

The change is happening faster in Philadelphia than in the country as a whole. Daily soda consumption among teenagers, a group closely tracked by federal researchers, dropped sharply — by 24 percent — from 2007 to 2013, compared with about 20 percent for the country. Last month, the city Department of Public Health reported a sustained decline in childhood obesity over the last seven years.

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/04/upshot/soda-industry-struggles-as-consumer-tastes-change.html

The battle against HFCS is working.

[Erich Bloodaxe BSN]

1. The soda companies are just as happy to sell you bottled water.

Often bottled tap water.

[Jesus Malverde]

2. Yeah but at least is just water...nt

[dixiegrrrrl]

29. Have you seen all the different kinds of bottled water???

I have a quite elderly neighbor who would not think of drinking soda, but she drinks ..."Vitamin water" . Flavored vitamin water, with diet sugar substitute.

There is sparkling water, and flavored waters, all kinds.
All in plastic bottles. Eccchhhh.

[PosterChild]

31. Yepm just like those "energy bars" ....

... that are just rebraded candy bars. Then there is the "energy drinks" that are just (Surprise ! )
soda!

[Scootaloo]

34. And they get that water from where? All those bottles come from what, and end up where?

[msongs]

4. certainly, costs them way less and sells for as much or even more than soda. fleece the flock lol nt

[Kath1]

14. "certainly, costs them way less and sells for as much or even more than soda. fleece the flock lol"

Exactly. Corporate America doing what it does best.

[Quackers]

32. ^^^THIS^^^

And not to mention the impact the bottled water market is having on local communities.

[Trajan]

39. I have avoided that trap

There are times when bottled water makes sense, but they are few and far between ...

There is no effin way I'm paying for tap water in a bottle unless absolutely necessary . ...

[Joe Shlabotnik]

42. I work outside a lot in the heat,

I bought 2, 1 litre bottles of water in the spring. I'm still washing them, refilling them, and putting them in the fridge every night for the next day's work.

[Deadshot]

45. And that bottled water is drying up wells around the world.

Bottled water is a huge scam that most people buy into.

[Shandris]

3. I wonder how many people went to those...

...make-your-own soda things I see in Target. Anyone ever tried one of those, by the way? I was thinking about one, and since this is a decently-appropriate place, can't hurt to ask as an aside. Mail works fine too if someone doesn't want to reply in-thread.

But yeah, I've even noticed it around here that there just doesn't seem to be as much of it used. I know personally, my household has cut back at least 75% on it just because of various dietary and lifestyle changes and I'm happier without that much.

But bottled water, really? I guess every now and then, like maybe once every other month I'll get a bottle if I'm thirsty and out, but just buying it because? Ugh.

[Jesus Malverde]

5. Sodastream is an Israeli company that had its factory in the West Bank

They are suffering from those who participate in the BSD movement.

[kimbutgar]

6. I use my soda stream to make frizzy water after I gave up sodas.

I used to use their memo. Line essence now I just make my own with lemon and limes. I boil them down, strain and add a teaspoon of the mixture to my water. I pay only $10 for the carbonization canister.I save the $5 off coupon at bed bath and beyond. I go though one about once a month.I noticed I was healthier after giving up high fructose corn sugar sodas. My only sweet drink now is lemonade and I only buy the ones sweetened by cane sugar.

[Jesus Malverde]

9. I built a home made carbonizer

I buy co2 in a big tank from air gas. Basically drill hole into the cap of a two liter bottle. Put in a tire valve from the auto parts store in the cap. Then gas it from the tank. I'll look for a YouTube of the build.

https://m.

[Major Nikon]

38. I did as well and it's even easier than this.

You can build an entire system from off the shelf parts. No need to make your own caps.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/115718194

[Shandris]

7. I haven't heard of this movement. Guess I'll need to look into it.

But thanks for letting me know about the dispute before I bought in. I prefer to know where my money is going, I just hadn't taken the time to look them up quite yet since I figured it'll be another month or so before I could really look into the possibility seriously.

[Scootaloo]

35. BDS - Boycott, Divest, Sanction

You'll want to stick with primary sources - like most I/P related issues, there's a hurricane of bullshit surrounding the kernel of reality.

[Shandris]

37. Thanks, Scootaloo. I normally try to stay out of that area mainly because there's...

...soooo much back and forth out there. If you have a good recommended source, I'd take it (if not I'll find my own of course, just didn't know if you had a preferred handy or not).

[yeoman6987]

11. I use the soda stream and it's great

Got mine before the Israeli thing but would have bought it anyway. Bottled water I use too but probably only a case a month. Yep doing my part for combating Heath and environment. Feels good.

[roody]

49. That is why I don't have one.

[Warpy]

17. I've used one for years

to make seltzer water and diet sodas. I love the diet mixes and it's great being able to control how sweet the soda is. I keep them on the unsweet side.

Their workers are Israeli and Palestinian and the Palistinians wrote an open letter a year or so ago saying the company didn't discriminate and paid well above the prevailing wage so please don't lump it into the BDS movement.

It's not a net money saver if you buy store brand sodas, but the mixes are better and can be done to taste. Best part: no heavy bottles to lug home and less plastic in the recycling bin.

[NMDemDist2]

23. we got a Soda Stream and that's about all we drink, canisters are too expensive so....

we bought 5# canisters from the welding shop ($8 to refill, lasts us a couple months) and got the guts to re-plumb the thing from co2doctor

here's my post on it

http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1093&pid=107

http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1157&pid=6647

[Jesus Malverde]

26. Nice build...nt

[Initech]

8. When I was in London, condiments and sodas were completely different.

Realizing that all HFCS is banned throughout the UK and EU makes things taste completely different from anything else we can get in the states. That's one thing I definitely don't miss traveling abroad!

[dixiegrrrrl]

30. the taste and also quite satisfying.

We have bought, occasionally, sodas made by small bottlers, with real sugar, in real glass bottles.
When I first tried them, I was reminded that back in the 60's, as school kids, we would have ONE Coke, from a glass bottle, on a Friday night, and it was totally enough, satisfying.

Boylan has real sodas, with sugar, in 12 oz glass bottles.
Red Birch beer is one, it is an old recipe that people in the NE might recognize, and quite good., as is their Root Beer, and Creme Sodas.
https://www.boylanbottling.com/product-category/cane-sugar/

Mountain Dew just came out with Dew Shine, a sugar soda, in a 4 pack.
I keep meaning to try it with gin, sorta a backwoods gin and tonic.

The real sodas cost about 1.00 a bottle, but we don't drink them often.

The Coke and the Pepsi with sugar are not very good, to my taste.

[monmouth4]

10. Thank you Michelle Obama, I'm sure you had a great deal to do with this obesity decline...n/t

[yeoman6987]

12. I think it helped. We'll see after she leaves whether it stays

I doubt the lunch program will or at least they will add calories to the lunches. Just a bunch.

[Sherman A1]

13. It's not just the battle against HFCS

it is just as it always is, never just one thing... Product costs are way up, people wanting to eat healthier, personal incomes have stagnated and soda is a luxury that can easily be limited or avoided, the market has diversified with other products (such as energy drinks, bottled teas and water) taking away share and the people that did drink all the soda in the time frame listed 1960-1990 have either aged changing habits and in some cases are not around any more.

And I believe that market share is off much more than the 25% listed I believe it to be closer to 50-60%.

[thelordofhell]

15. They've stopped on Soda and started on Energy Drinks

No mention of those things......

[Jesus Malverde]

16. It's in the article.

Couple interesting points from the article. People are drinking more bottled water, however people do not have a brand loyalty for water, they buy whatever hits them at the time.

there is another existential threat that could be much more hazardous to the soda makers than a tax. Historically, beverage preferences are set in adolescence, the first time that most people begin choosing and buying a favorite brand. But the declines in soda drinking appear to be sharpest among young Americans.

“Kids these days are growing up with all of these other options, and there are some parents who say, ‘I really want my kids to drink juice or a bottled water,’ ” said Mr. Hemphill, managing director of research for the Beverage Marketing Corporation. “If kids grow up without carbonated soft drinks, the likelihood that they are going to grow up and, when they are 35, start drinking is very low.”

[kacekwl]

18. That's ok they just make up the

different by selling bottled tap water.

[Jesus Malverde]

19. Thing is anyone can bottle water.

So the soda companies ar competing with Walmart water, Costco water, etc. a good point from the article people don't have a brand loyalty for water.

[Scootaloo]

36. The problem comes with private, corporate ownership of so much water resource

[Major Nikon]

41. Lots of people do have a brand loyalty for water

Bottled water tastes different due to the mineral content. Ozarka doesn't taste like Dasini or Fiji or Evian and all of those brands have their own market share along with several other major ones. Carbonated water like Perrier, San Pellegrino, and Calistoga have their own loyalists.

[SheilaT]

21. People may have collectively cut back on sodas,

but I suspect that they're consuming things like the canned or bottle tea drinks, flavored waters, so-called fortified waters.

Simple tap water just doesn't cut it for most people.

I will say, I'm constantly amazed at the grocery store how many people have several of the giant boxes of soda. They have, what is it, 24 cans? And people have two or three of them.

I stopped drinking soda almost entirely about fifteen years ago. Once in a while, maybe three or four times in a year, I'll have a soda of some kind.

[Salviati]

24. It's been ages since I bought soda...

... but to be fair to those with a cart full of the stuff, it can really pay to stock up a lot when they go on sale. Get a good sale and it's often 50% off or more.

If it's not on sale though, then we're talking serious soda addiction then...

[SheilaT]

44. Since I see people with huge amounts of soda

in the cart pretty much any time I go to the grocery, I doubt they are stocking up, which would of course make sense.

[davidn3600]

22. Bottled water isn't exactly better

Healthier? Perhaps...especially over full-calorie soda. But it's a killer on the environment. And most studies show there is no benefit of bottled water compared to whats coming out of your tap.

How many years do you think it will take for those plastic bottles to decompose? At least 500 years for most of them. Bottles made from Polyethylene Terephthalate will NEVER decompose.

[Jesus Malverde]

25. Good point

We should encourage recycling.

[ZM90]

27. High Fructose Corn Syrup is terrible.

I hate HFCS with a passion. The only way I'll drink Soda 99% of the time is when it has actual sugar in it and even then I have cut back on drinking soda compared to how much I used to drink.

[bigwillq]

28. I just really don't like soda

Not because of the number of calories or amount of sugar or all the other crap that's in it, I just really don't like the taste.

In addition, I rarely drink caffeine. I have a sprite or root beer once in awhile, but just not really into soda.

[one_voice]

33. My husband had a heart attack...

back in 2010 and in 2011 found out he had diabetes. Well we decided to get healthy(ier) and I started to really read labels. I was shocked how many things had HFCS in them. Things you wouldn't even think of.

I do my best to never buy anything that has it. I try to use fresh whenever I can.

My husband's heart is good and his diabetes is completely controlled through diet and exercise. As for me, I've fallen off the wagon a bit recently--but I've had some serious stresses going on. At least I didn't start smoking again. So there's that...

[longship]

40. Then, there's Vernor's Ginger Ale.

Formerly made exusively on Woodward Ave. in Detroit, MI.

It still makes the best ice cream floats on the planet. And when one is feeling ill during cold weather, hot Vernor's is amongst the best thing.

That's the one exception. The best ginger ale on the planet. And yes, the bubbles still tickle ones nose.

[Dem2theMax]

47. Vernor's! I grew up drinking Vernor's.

My Dad always had Vernor's Ginger Ale in the house. And you are not kidding - vanilla ice cream and Vernor's. Yum.
I didn't realize until reading your post that Vernor's was made in Detroit. My Dad grew up in Detroit. Now I know why
we never had that horrible Canada Dry stuff in the house.

My Dad passed away at the end of 2012. Two days before he died, he was craving Vernor's and I wouldn't get it for him,
because he was having swallowing issues and I was afraid those bubbles would do him in. Had I known he only had two
days left, I would have gladly brought him his favorite drink. So after he was buried, my brother and I drank a Vernor's in his honor and left the cans sitting next to the flowers at the cemetery. Dad would have approved.

[kcr]

48. This is how you bring native Michiganders out of the woodwork

Just hearing that name brings me back

[JonathanRackham]

43. My wife is European

Wine, beer, bottled water.

All that sugar is bad on the waist line.

[Android3.14]

46. 1/2 glass Flavored carbonated water and 1/2 glass 100% Juice

I've been making this for a few years and it works great.
Satisfies that fizzy craving, no HFCS or bizarre chemicals, and it mixes well with either vodka or whiskey.

[HickFromTheTick]

50. Some soda mixed with juice is quite good. A slightly healthier choice.

In Ontario we have a brand of Ginger Beer called "Grace". It has so much ginger in it your throat stings the first couple of sips.
It is excellent mixed 50/50 with OJ. Just a comment on how rarely we buy it these days and even then how we cut it with juice.

I have a little guilt trip the once a month or so I buy a 2 litre bottle of soda.

The bottled water industry is just the same old soda industry changing brands. They have been water wasters of the highest degree always, but now as the world's preference is changing, the way water is looked on as a privatized commodity rather than a human right is just appalling. We use Brita filtered tap water for our home use. Makes a huge difference, so now I can't really stomach unfiltered Ottawa tap water. It's "safe", but tastes like metal ass....

Read up on how Nestle scored a deal to rape Canada for 2 odd bucks per million litres of our precious water. 2 bucks per 250,000 gallons. It's gonna be slightly more expensive than that after they bottle it, I guarantee...

Funny how people will go to war to maintain cheap gas, but will line up to pay 20 bucks a gallon for water in nice little toxic plastic bottle ocean killer bottles. I saw some suckers at a rock festival paying 6 bucks a pint...... not allowed to enter the festival with their own water. Thanks for the rant.

Hick