Carbonated soft drink trademarks hold five of the top ten positions - joined by two bottled water trademarks, two fruit beverage trademarks and one sports drink. The leading sports drink in the United States now stands as the fifth biggest liquid refreshment beverage brand, and bottled water brands continue to raise their profiles.

Refreshment beverage category developments ranged from the astronomical growth of energy drinks to the relatively flat performance of fruit beverages and carbonated soft drinks. Bottled water characteristically strong growth continued, but the small energy drink segment outperformed all other categories. Boundaries between beverage categories have blurred. The distinction between carbonated and not-carbonated beverages appears to be losing relevance for consumers, who now choose from a wide range of beverage types to meet a variety of need states.