It appears fluid milk isn't the only beverage category losing market share. An in-depth review of soda sales by The Wall Street Journal indicates that category is off target as well. Unfortunately for dairy, soda had a much higher starting point to fall from when comparing per capita consumption figures.
For the 52 weeks ending November 23, zero- and low-calorie soda sales plunged 6.8 percent compared to the same time last year, reported The Wall Street Journal citing Nielsen scanner data analyzed by Wells Fargo. Regular soda did not fair a whole lot better as sales were off 2.2 percent over the same time period.
Soda sales are big business in the U.S. as the total category accounted for $75 billion in revenue last year. Since obesity has become a greater concern, to ensure future sales, soda manufacturers turned their attention towards producing and promoting zero- and low-calorie or diet sodas. The strategy worked for a time as diet soda consumption rose from 26 to 31 percent of all soda sales from 1990 to 2010. However, that uphill climb in the sale graphs has been replaced by a downward sloping line. In fact, diet soda consumption has contracted more than regular soda for three straight years, reported The Wall Street Journal.
All that adds up to declining per capita soda sales. While down, the still impressive consumption number stands at 43.5 gallons of soda for every U.S. citizen each year, according to Time magazine. That makes the U.S. the world's largest soda consumer. Those are also consumption totals that the dairy industry would drool over seeing once again.
At one point, per capita consumption of fluid milk was at 44.6 gallons per person. Unfortunately that last occurred in 1945 when the U.S. had just won World War II. Since then, fluid milk has been in a tailspin, plummeting to 32.9 gallons in 1965; 26.3 gallons in 1985; and 21 gallons in 2005. Last year, fluid milk consumption was a paltry 19.7 gallons for every U.S. citizen.
While fluid milk may never return to its former glory of 40-plus gallon consumption levels, the health food push by Americans could open additional doors for dairy. One has to look no further to the fact that soda sales peaked at 54 gallons per year in 1998 and dropped 17 percent to 43.5 gallons last year. A second ray of hope comes from water consumption, a healthy beverage option. While water leads beverages at 58 gallons consumed annually, consumers are willing to pay for something that is essentially free. Bottled water sales nearly doubled from 1998 to 2012 and stand at 21 gallons a year . . . yet another number higher than the fluid milk category.
