April 8/Obesity, Fitness & Wellness Week -- The quintessential American refreshment, an ice-cold soft drink, is beginning to feel out-of-date. A just-published report from Mintel shows today's adults rapidly switching from calorie-laden soda to other, often lighter beverages.
From 2003-2008, Mintel estimates that the regular carbonated soft drink market lost 15.6 million adult drinkers. Just 68% of respondents to Mintel's November 2008 survey said they drank regular soda in 2008, down from 76% in 2003. During the same period, the number of diet soda drinkers grew: 7.8 million more adults reported drinking diet soda in 2008 than in 2003.