Total US 1998 carbonated soft drink volume grows +3% to 9.88 bil 192-oz cases, according to Beverage Digest/Maxwell all-channel data. Overall growth rate in 1998 is lower than industry's +3.2% growth in 1997 (BD 2/12/98) and +3.6% in 1996 (BD 2/7/97). Coke and Pepsi each post +4.5% corporate volume growth and both gain share. Coke's share up +0.6 points; Pepsi up +0.5. Coke's overall volume in US grows +190.9 mil cases; Pepsi +134.5 mil cases. Among top-10 companies, Coke and Pepsi capture all share growth. Cadbury's Dr Pepper/Seven Up unit (DPSU) increases overall volume +2.3%, but loses share. Plus. In brand landmark, Coke Classic's volume passes 2 bil cases.

Brands. Coke's Minute Maid breaks into top-10 brands with +29.8% volume growth. Minute Maid dislodges Caffeine-Free Diet Pepsi, which was #10 brand last year. Pepsi's Mt Dew, Coke's Sprite and Dr Pepper all outpaced industry growth and gained share. Mt Dew and Sprite grow at triple industry's pace. DPSU's 7UP loses both volume and share. Colas. Coke Classic remains #1 brand. Its volume growth is on par with industry; market share flat. Brand Pepsi posts small +0.6% volume growth and loses share. Diet Coke posted industry-beating volume growth and gained +0.1 share points. Diet Pepsi gains volume, loses share.

Data. Table below shows top-10 CSD companies and brands. Data includes market share and case sales for 1998 and 1997; also changes in market share and volume 1998 vs 1997. Data published with BD contributing editor John C. Maxwell, 35-year beverage expert. Covers CSD sales in all channels: take-home, fountain, vending, military, etc. 1998 figures estimated; 1997 final version of data first published in BD 2/12/98.

Coke. In 1998, Coke Classic adds +59.3 mil cases vs 1997. Sprite's volume increases +53.8 mil cases. Minute Maid up +27.9 mil cases. Barq's adds +11 mil cases. Coke's struggling Mt Dew competitor Surge loses volume; down -17.2 mil cases. Fast-growing Citra (BD 2/5/99) sells 21 mil cases.

Pepsi. Mt Dew leads Pepsi's growth, gains +59.9 mil cases. Brand Pepsi grows by only 8.3 mil cases. Pepsi One. Company sells 33.5 mil cases of new diet cola Pepsi One since mid-October 1998 rollout.

DPSU. Company adds 31.4 mil cases of volume in 1998. But with overall volume growth of +2.3%, DPSU loses corporate market share. Dr Pepper's volume increases +32.6 mil cases; Sunkist up +4.8 mil cases. 7UP down -5.8 mil cases.

Plus. 1) Cott, which posted biggest volume growth rate in 1997, suffers -11.5% volume loss amid corporate restructuring. 2) National Beverage slightly outpaces industry growth rate, up +3.2%. 3) Triarc's Royal Crown unit volume drops -15%; market share sinks -0.2 points. 4) Big Red posts double-digit volume growth. 5) Seagram's mixer line now in #9 spot, unseats Double Cola; Double Cola now included with "private label/all other" group.

Dollars. For 1998, BD estimates retail value of CSD industry in US was $56.3 bil, up +2.9% from 1997. Unlike 1997, when retail value growth rate was less than half industry volume growth rate, retail dollars grew almost in line with volume in 1998. This indicates more stable pricing and volume shifting into higher-margin channels.

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