NEW YORK -- Fizzy soda is still Coca-Cola's biggest business, but that has been slowly changing.
The world's largest beverage maker got nearly three-quarters of its global sales volume from carbonated drinks last year. Yet most of its growth -- 70 per cent -- came from non-carbonated drinks like bottled waters and teas in 2014, according to the company. In the third quarter, the company said Wednesday non-carbonated drinks rose 6 per cent globally while carbonated drinks rose 2 per cent.
In North America, a decline in carbonated drinks was offset by an increase on non-carbonated drinks. In the U.S., people have been moving away from soda for years given its reputation for making people fat and the growing number of options in the beverage aisle. More recently, diet sodas have also suffered -- a trend Coke executives blame on concerns about artificial sweeteners.
Here's a look at how some of Coke's drinks fared in North America for the three months ended Oct. 2:
- Regular, full-calorie Coke -- down 3 per cent
- Coke Zero -- down 4 per cent
- Diet Coke -- down 9.5 per cent
- Juice and juice drinks -- up 1 per cent
- Teas -- up 6 per cent
- Sports drinks -- up 10 per cent
- Bottled waters -- up 10 per cent
