Soda producers all just collectively gulped.
According to data published in the Wall Street Journal, Americans are now drinking more bottled water than soda for the first time in history. (Some are even willing to pay $63 a bottle.) Per the story, the shift has a lot to do with growing health concerns related to the sugar content in soda, as well as the fear of tainted public water sources, like those that made headlines in Flint, Michigan.
The numbers break down like so: In the U.S., we now consume 39.3 gallons of bottled water per person annually, versus 38.5 gallons of soda, according to the Beverage Marketing Corp. However, soda still brings in more revenue than bottled water: retail sales amounted to $39.5 billion for the the former versus $21.3 billion for the latter. After all, there are still water fountains and faucets that offer up water at the can’t-be-beat cost of nothing.
—RealClearLife
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