Soft drinks in 2024: The big picture
Pressure on soft drinks volumes has been front and centre in the US in 2024, with total volume sales expected to stabilise and see little growth, or even declines, in most categories, with limited exceptions. This dynamic came after price hikes were experienced in the category during late 2023, when most price increases in the industry outpaced general inflation (and food inflation) by a considerable margin.
2024 key trends
In the last ten years, energy drinks and sports drinks have emerged as more significant categories within soft drinks in the US, reflecting consumers’ demand for lifestyle beverages with specific functions and use cases. Despite this trend, bottled water continues to account for the highest off-trade volume sales, and is also expected to be the primary contributor to actual value growth in 2024.
Competitive landscape
Leading companies in soft drinks in the US consistently achieve solid performances due to their strong brand equity and effective revenue growth management capabilities, along with ongoing product and format innovation. This enables them to navigate inflationary pressures and implement aggressive pricing strategies.
Retailing developments
Promotional activity has been a crucial element of retailers’ and brands’ strategies in soft drinks in the US in 2024, particularly in reaction to declines in off-trade volumes. However, this activity is not uniform across all distribution channels.
Foodservice vs retail split
Considerable growth was seen in on-trade (foodservice) volume sales of soft drinks in the US over 2021-2023, as footfall in foodservice normalised post-pandemic, and sales were supported by strong international and domestic tourism, which amplify on-trade sales. On-trade volume sales of soft drinks therefore recovered to the pre-pandemic (2019) level in 2023.
What next for soft drinks?
Soft drinks in the US is set to see positive CAGRs in both volume and current value terms in both the off-trade and on-trade channels in the forecast period. However, while sales of soft drinks are set to continue to rise, it is important to recognise that challenges such as rising inflation and shifting consumer behaviours could impede growth in the coming years.
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Overview:
Understand the latest market trends and future growth opportunities for the Soft Drinks industry in USA with research from Euromonitor International's team of in-country analysts – experts by industry and geographic specialisation.
Key trends are clearly and succinctly summarised alongside the most current research data available. Understand and assess competitive threats and plan corporate strategy with our qualitative analysis, insight and confident growth projections.
Data and analysis in this report provides further detailed coverage dedicated to the following key categories, where applicable:
- Bottled Water
- Carbonates
- Concentrates
- Juice
- RTD Coffee
- RTD Tea
- Energy Drinks
- Sports Drinks
- Asian Speciality Drinks
If you're in the Soft Drinks industry in USA, our research will help you to make informed, intelligent decisions; to recognise and profit from opportunity, or to offer resilience amidst market uncertainty.
The Soft Drinks in USA report includes:
- Analysis of key supply-side and demand trends
- Detailed segmentation of international and local products
- Historic volume and value sizes, company and brand market shares
- Five year forecasts of market trends and market growth
- Robust and transparent research methodology, conducted in-country
This report answers:
- What is the market size of Soft Drinks in USA?
- To what extent are health considerations impacting consumption of Soft Drinks in USA?
- How are changing social attitudes and legislation (eg sugar tax) reshaping demand and consumption?
- How are changing demographics (for example, an ageing or predominantly young population) determining consumption of Soft Drinks in USA?
- Which are the leading brands in Soft Drinks in USA?
- What potential exists for multinational or domestic soft drinks companies to expand in USA?
- How are products distributed in Soft Drinks in USA?
- How is the rise of e-commerce changing the retail and competitive landscape?
- How have home seclusion and social distancing measures following COVID-19 impacted sales of Soft Drinks?
- How are sustainability issues, such as environmentally-friendly packaging, legislation on recyclability, or the amount of plastic in bottles, impacting the soft drinks industry?
- Where is future growth expected to be most dynamic?
Soft Drinks in the US
Soft drinks in 2024: The big picture
2024 key trends
Competitive landscape
Retailing developments
Foodservice vs retail split
What next for soft drinks?
Fountain sales in the US
Growth continues, but sales fail to return to the pre-pandemic level
Innovation in fountain sales aims to personalise experiences
Major foodservice operator to start phasing out fountain sales
DISCLAIMER
Bottled Water in the US
KEY DATA FINDINGS
Emerging trends in sparkling flavoured bottled water drive its growth
Innovation continues to drive growth
Economy brands close the price gap, affecting the competitive landscape
New products expected in the niche of super premium bottled water
Bottled water is evolving towards more sustainable packaging solutions
Shift towards healthier, flavourful alternatives
Carbonates in the US
KEY DATA FINDINGS
Products that are functional and health-oriented continue to grow
Volumes decline due to price adjustments and overall inflation
Balancing growth with sweetness: The role of reduced sugar and natural sweeteners
Affordability could create growth opportunities, but premiumisation will remain on the horizon
Carbonates will feel the pressure from lifestyle drinks such as sports drinks and energy drinks
On-trade growth expected to slow significantly, as it has reached 2019 volumes
Concentrates in the US
KEY DATA FINDINGS
A cost-effective and functional beverage solution
New brands bring innovation and growth
Concentrates attracts attention due to their emphasis on price, convenience, and margins
New players will continue to drive growth for concentrates
Flavour and functionality likely to accelerate moving forward
Affordability and sustainability will be key to continuing to develop the category
Concentrates conversions
Juice in the US
KEY DATA FINDINGS
Coconut water continues to ride its wave of success
The way consumers perceive health is shaping juice
Consumers increasingly value sustainability claims in juice, and companies use this to achieve their goals
Juice faces new challenges as consumers reassess their beverage choices
The future of juice is set to revolve around functionality and health
Innovation in juice likely to focus on blurring category lines
RTD Coffee in the US
KEY DATA FINDINGS
Different routes to growth through different offerings within RTD coffee
US consumers are experiencing increased stress and anxiety, and paradoxically turn to caffeine
Nitro coffee struggles for acceptance due to competition from similar drinks
Brands are likely to continue increasing caffeine levels in RTD coffee
Growing consumer interest in additional functional benefits
Could beanless coffee be a sustainable future for coffee?
RTD Tea in the US
KEY DATA FINDINGS
Reduced sugar RTD tea gains momentum amongst health-conscious consumers
Kombucha regains volume growth thanks to innovation and flavour expansion
Major players struggle to find growth, while new ones bring fresh air to the category
Brands will focus on low sugar formulations and functional ingredients, yet they must address perceptions of sustainability to succeed
Brand extensions and hybrid products could bring growth to RTD tea
The rising caffeine levels in energy drinks and RTD coffee create a competitive challenge for RTD tea, but also opportunities
Energy Drinks in the US
KEY DATA FINDINGS
Reduced sugar energy drinks overtakes sales of regular energy drinks
Flavour innovation continues to drive dynamism in energy drinks
As volume sales start to suffer from high price growth, players take action
More flavour options could result in choice overload for consumers
Rising competition for retail space: The impact of distribution, partnerships, and scale
Integrating functional ingredients for enhanced performance and cognitive support
Sports Drinks in the US
KEY DATA FINDINGS
Sports drinks fails to achieve off-trade volume growth amidst rising competition and higher prices
Flying too close to the sun, Prime sees a significant sales decline
Competition for hydration as a need state is rising across categories
From sports-centric products to lifestyle drinks and back again?
Hydration is the first priority, but advanced need state positioning is on the horizon
Promotional activity and retail penetration will be key to ensure volume growth
The following categories and subcategories are included:
Soft Drinks
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- Carbonated Natural Mineral Bottled Water
- Carbonated Spring Bottled Water
- Carbonated Purified Bottled Water
-
- Still Flavoured Bottled Water
- Sparkling Flavoured Bottled Water
- Functional Bottled Water
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- Still Natural Mineral Bottled Water
- Still Spring Bottled Water
- Still Purified Bottled Water
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- Regular Carbonates
- Reduced Sugar Carbonates
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- Regular Cola Carbonates
- Reduced Sugar Cola Carbonates
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- Regular Non-Cola Carbonates
- Reduced Sugar Non-Cola Carbonates
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- Regular Lemonade/Lime
- Reduced Sugar Lemonade/Lime
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- Regular Tonic Water/Mixers/Other Bitters
- Reduced Sugar Tonic Water/Mixers/Other Bitters
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- Regular Orange Carbonates
- Reduced Sugar Orange Carbonates
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- Regular Other Non-Cola Carbonates
- Reduced Sugar Other Non-Cola Carbonates
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- Liquid Concentrates
- Powder Concentrates
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- Not from Concentrate 100% Juice
- Reconstituted 100% Juice
- Coconut and Other Plant Waters
- Juice Drinks (up to 24% Juice)
- Nectars
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- RTD Coffee
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- Carbonated RTD Tea and Kombucha
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- Regular Still RTD Tea
- Reduced Sugar Still RTD Tea
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- Regular Energy Drinks
- Reduced Sugar Energy Drinks
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- Regular Sports Drinks
- Reduced Sugar Sports Drinks
- Asian Speciality Drinks
Soft Drinks
This is the aggregation of the following categories; Carbonates, Fruit/vegetable juice, Bottled water, Functional drinks, Concentrates, RTD tea, RTD coffee and Asian speciality drinks.
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This report originates from Passport, our Soft Drinks research and analysis database.
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