Soft Drinks Global Market Opportunities and Strategies to 2033

This report describes and explains the soft drinks market and covers 2018-2023, termed the historic period, and 2023-2028, 2033F termed the forecast period. The report evaluates the market across each region and for the major economies within each region.

The global soft drinks market reached a value of nearly $440.1 billion in 2023, having grown at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 3.74% since 2018. The market is expected to grow from $440.1 billion in 2023 to $570 billion in 2028 at a rate of 5.31%. The market is then expected to grow at a CAGR of 4.59% from 2028 and reach $713.3 billion in 2033.

Growth in the historic period resulted from increase in health-conscious consumers, strong economic growth in emerging markets and rapid urbanization. Factors that negatively affected growth in the historic period were increase in taxes.

Going forward, rise in marketing campaigns, rising disposable income, surging e-commerce sector and increasing global population will drive the growth. Factor that could hinder the growth of the soft drinks market in the future include health issues associated with high sugar consumption and stringent regulations.

The soft drinks market is segmented by product into carbonated soft drinks, juices and juice concentrates, bottled water, ready-to-drink (RTD) tea and coffee and other products. The bottled water market was the largest segment of the soft drinks market segmented by product, accounting for 44.2% or $194.6 billion of the total in 2023. Going forward, the bottled water segment is expected to be the fastest growing segment in the soft drinks market segmented by product, at a CAGR of 6.48% during 2023-2028.

The soft drinks market is segmented by flavors into cola, citrus and other flavors. The other flavors market was the largest segment of the soft drinks market segmented by flavors, accounting for 65.2% or $286.9 billion of the total in 2023. Going forward, the other flavors segment is expected to be the fastest growing segment in the soft drinks market segmented by flavors, at a CAGR of 6.09% during 2023-2028.

The soft drinks market is segmented by distribution channel into supermarkets and hypermarkets, convenience stores, online stores and other distribution channels. The supermarkets and hypermarkets market was the largest segment of the soft drinks market segmented by distribution channel, accounting for 39.9% or $175.7 billion of the total in 2023. Going forward, the online stores segment is expected to be the fastest growing segment in the soft drinks market segmented by distribution channel, at a CAGR of 6.15% during 2023-2028.

Asia-Pacific was the largest region in the soft drinks market, accounting for 31.9% or $140.2 billion of the total in 2023. It was followed by North America, Western Europe and then the other regions. Going forward, the fastest-growing regions in the soft drinks market will be Africa and the Middle East where growth will be at CAGRs of 14.30% and 11.65 respectively. These will be followed by South America and Asia-Pacific where the markets are expected to grow at CAGRs of 8.80% and 5.93% respectively.

The global soft drinks market is fairly fragmented, with a large number of players operating in the market. The top ten competitors in the market made up 19.06% of the total market in 2022. PepsiCo, Inc was the largest competitor with a 7.86% share of the market, followed by Keurig Dr Pepper Inc with 2.20%, Red Bull GMBH with 2.15%, The Coca-Cola Company with 1.45%, Asahi Group Holdings Ltd. with 1.38%, Monster Energy Company with 1.27%, Danone SA with 1.14%, Nestlé with 1.01%, Suntory Holdings Ltd. with 0.32% and National Beverage Corp. with 0.28%.

The top opportunities in the soft drinks market segmented by product will arise in the bottled water segment, which will gain $71.8 billion of global annual sales by 2028. The top opportunities in the soft drinks market segmented by flavors will arise in the other flavors segment, which will gain $98.6 billion of global annual sales by 2028. The top opportunities in the soft drinks market segmented by distribution channel will arise in the supermarkets and hypermarkets segment, which will gain $52.7 billion of global annual sales by 2028. The soft drinks market size will gain the most in China at $16.7 billion.

Market-trend-based strategies for the soft drinks market include launch of zero sugar soft drinks to cater to shifting consumer preferences, development of eco-friendly packaging for soft drinks to achieve sustainability goals, focus on use of ai technology to gain insights, introduction of new soft drinks to expand product offerings, strategic partnerships and collaborations among players to strengthen manufacturing and distribution agreements.

Player-adopted strategies in the soft drinks market include focus on expanding its operational capabilities through new product launches, strengthening its operational capabilities through strategic partnerships and strengthening its market position through raising funds to enter new markets.

To take advantage of the opportunities, the analyst recommends the soft drinks companies to focus on zero-sugar soft drinks expansion, focus on sustainable packaging solutions, focus on leveraging artificial intelligence for product innovation, focus on product innovation and localization, focus on bottled water segment for growth, focus on citrus flavors for growth, expand in emerging markets, continue to focus on developed markets, focus on strategic collaborations, focus on online stores, provide competitively priced offerings, participate in trade shows and events, focus on digital marketing for enhanced reach and engagement, invest in cause-related marketing for brand differentiation and consumer loyalty and focus on understanding end-user behavior.