According to the National Soft Drinks Association (NSDA), in 2004, Americans consumed on average 1.5 12-ounce cans per day and spent over nearly $850 per household per year for the consumption of soft drinks. By adjusting these figures on a nationwide basis, U.S. consumers spent over $65 billion on soft drinks and consumed nearly 560 12-ounce cans per year. Pretty scary, isn’t it?
It is scary, but it can certainly be explained.
Soft drink consumption in the United States was a widely recognized phenomenon since 1950s. There was no single man, woman or child at a movie theater without a large pop corn and a soda can. Large displays were all over the places showing the famous vintage Coke signs or the Space Age popcorn box of the 1950s; boys with leather jackets drinking coke; girls with colorful outfits and blood-red lips drinking soda.
In the 1960s, the soft drink industry introduced container sizes in the market. Gradually, the standard size 6-½-ounce serving grew into the 12-ounce can and over time it got replaced by a 20- ounce bottle. What later became known as “big” – and in our era as “super-sized” – was introduced in the era of drive-ins and fancy convertibles. The, 7-Eleven stores introduced the 64-ounce Double Gulp. Inevitably, Americans were consuming gallons of soft drinks in a single-serving container.
At the same time, large beverage companies and fast food chains were offering large servings at low prices to attract more customers and increase consumption. Americans could buy a small (16oz) soda for $1.05 and a large (32oz) soda for only $1.57. So, in effect, they could buy double serving for only half a dollar more.
The impact of advertising and the intense marketing efforts of soft drinks corporations and large beverage companies led to a huge increase of soft drink consumption in the late 1980s. Having spent billions of dollars on advertising and having targeted even children under age 12 as well as elementary school children soft drink companies have managed to double their sales in 1988. Soft drink consumption soared via ads on children’s toys, movies, cartoons, videos and large displays on playgrounds and amusement parks. Besides, they have also targeted adults through TV, radio, magazines and Internet sweepstakes and contests.
During the 1990s, soft drinks corporations, in cooperation with fast food organizations, intensified their marketing efforts, putting American children on the top of their target customer list. Running advertisements on Channel One, large beverage companies had a direct impact on nearly 8 million children of age between 7 and 15. District 11 in Colorado Springs was the first public school to host Burger King’ advertisements in its hallways and on the sides of its school buses, which led to a 10-year contract with Coca Cola and a profit of $11 million over the life of the deal. Following the brilliant example of District 11, all Colorado schools signed similar deals with Coca Cola, and in the name of profit, students were encouraged to have a soda even in the classrooms. The eradication of a junked nation did not stop there. Coca-Cola was reported to have compensated the Boys & Girls Clubs of America $60 million for the exclusive marketing of its brand in over 2,000 school facilities.
After the scary statistics of 2004, there has been an organized effort from the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) and several consumer organizations to shift consumer preferences toward healthier dietary habits that would not involve the consumption of soft drinks to such a great extent. Indeed, by the end of 2004, the consumption of soft drinks had declined 12 percent, while the sales of soft drinks corporations and large beverage companies had declined 6.6 percent to 52.4 gallons from 56.1 gallons in 1998.
In 2007, the sales volume of soft drinks declined 2.3 percent and in 2008 declined 3 percent, recording the lowest volume since 1997. It seems like the fear for severe health conditions associated to soft drinks overconsumption such as obesity, heart diseases, strokes, cancer, osteoporosis, hypertension, high blood pressure and others, has shifted consumer preferences towards a healthier lifestyle. Admittedly, Americans do not consume as many soft drinks as they used to in the 1990s. The question, though, remains: is it a permanent trend?









