Pepsi beat Coke in December for the first time in their 108-year rivalry, surpassing its nemesis in market capitalization. The great irony of Pepsi’s rise is this: It has never sold more soda than Coke, even today.
Over the past five years its stock has risen more than a third, while Coke’s has sunk 30 percent.
What Coke investors didn’t envision was that an emerging preference for other soft beverages –water, sports drinks — would fracture demand. Nor did they see that the business strengths that once applied to cola would take hold across a broadened soft drink and snack-food market — a market that Pepsi, and not Coke, dominated.
“Most people think of Pepsi and Coke fighting it out,” observes Eric Schoenstein, an analyst at Jensen Investment Management, which owns shares of both. “But we don’t see it that way. Pepsi isn’t really a beverage company anymore: It’s a food company that also sells beverages.”
The irony of Pepsi’s success is that despite how far it has come out of the cola trenches, inside the company the primary competitive driver is still Coke. Ask any employee who the enemy is and the answer comes quick: “Every one of them will say Coke,” says consultant Ken Harris, who’s worked closely with Pepsi.
Uncle Dave is a Pepsi man.
I’m a Coke man.
He and I don’t get along.
Pepsi is flat and over sweetened. Coke is it! ;->
pepsi sucks..
Pepsi for me!
If ice cold, I prefer Coke.
If the soda is room temperature, I prefer Pepsi.
Coke wins in the brand loyalty and bottle shape category.
“Coca-Cola” sounds better in Spanish.
I’ve always found it funny the marked differences people see between the two when the only real difference is in the percentage of orange flavoring over lemon flavoring.
For the record, Coke has more orange than lemon, while Pepsi has more lemon than orange.
Diet Pepsi ROCKS!! I frequent restaurants more often if they have Pepsi products.
Cold Mirinda, Poweraid, if there’s nothing else then it’s Coke
I prefer water, especially with ice and Crown Royal!
Heineken! Sweet Dutch sunshine…. Or Canal water, depending on your POV.
Coca Cola, with RC Cola in second place. I also like Coke’s Powerade better than Gatorade (not sure who makes Gatorade now). I like good root beer now and then, usually IBC or Stewart’s, but A&W (from Pepsi? not sure) is OK.
Pepsi Cola has never been to my taste; some generics (such as the late lamented Costco cola) taste better than Pepsi.
The only diet drink I like is Diet Rite Cola by RC.
Since I only rarely go to fast food joints, Pepsi’s profits from them rarely come from me.
Dr. Pepper — texas relatives.
I gotta say, though, I have up soda about 8 months ago — I was up to 4 a day, my stomach was acting up. Since then, I’ve had one twice, and never a full one, I feel much healther, and lost some weight — but hey, maybe just me.
I do dig RC Cola — used to love that when I was a kid, but it’s hard to find on the west coast like it was in the midwest.
Coffee, no sweetner.
Yeah!
Been drinking Diet Pepsi for something like 35 of my 51 years. (Listening Pepsi? Is that enough of an endorsement to get a free year’s supply? When can I expect the truck load of DP to magically appear at my doorstep?)
I’m not a huge Cola fan, but more places seem to sell Pepsi around here (S/E UK).
I honestly don’t taste that much difference. Coke seems a little more sugary and acidic to me, but thats about it.
Can’t we all just get along?
Damn you cokies get out of my country!!! (if u cant guess im for pepsi)
Brady Frey–RC products, both RC and Diet RIte, are certainly found in Las Vegas NV grocery stores (Albertson’s for sure, and probably others as we could usually find it in most stores when we lived there). Look around a bit more where you live, and you might find what you seek.
Diet Coke forever.
This is all my fault. I’m a life-long Coke drinker. But unfortunately, my office building has Coke machines on odd-numbered floors, Pepsi machines on even-numbered floors. I’m too lazy to walk down to the 5th floor on most days, so I usually wind up buying Pepsi.
But other than the cola, I prefer Pepsi’s other drinks – Mountain Dew, Lipton, etc. I prefer Sprite to Slice, though
And I prefer Dr. Pepper (Cadbury-Schweppes) to Mr. Pibb or Cherry Coke.
On really hot summer days, I tend to prefer RC. But that’s getting harder and harder to find these days, even after Cadbury-Schweppes bought the brand.
All of this talk has raised a very serious and troubling question: Just what is the offical cola of Dvorak Uncensored?
Who is Dave Drews?
Dave Drews is a Contributing Editor, as am I.
http://www.dvorak.org/blog/misc/masthead.html
Dave Drews,
I thought Pepsi was for the “New Generation”. You deserve at least a carload full of DP for that endorsement.
Guaraná Antarctica from Brasil is my favourite drink. I do love Pepsi and Coca-Cola, from America as well… and Sagres bear from Portugal. 😉
I lean toward Coke, but not fanatically so. I’m a Dr. Pepper man.
Being in my mid-30s, I still remember REAL GLASS bottles. Does anyone else in my age range (or older) agree that “pop”, as we call it in my neck of the woods, just doesn’t taste the same coming from a can or a plastic bottle?
I HATE COKE, IT IS THE NASTIEST DRINK ON EARTH!!! GO PEPSI, THATS ALL I EVER WILL DRINK IS PEPSI BRANDS!
PEPSI IS THE FAVOUR & FOREVER DRINK IN WORLD
GO COKE! i am so glad vanilla coke is back!