Coke Wins Soft Drink Wars: Coke Classic,...

Coke Wins Soft Drink Wars: Coke Classic, Dr Pepper, Mountain Dew and Sprite each gained a bigger chunk of the U.S. soft drink market last year, while Pepsi, Seven-Up and several diet brands lost ground, according to two reports. The overall victory went to Coca-Cola Co., whose dominance of the industry widened to 41.9% of the U.S. market in 1995, up from 40.7% in 1994, according to Beverage Digest. Meanwhile, No. 2 PepsiCo Inc. gained only a tenth of a percentage point. Overall volume for the carbonated soft drink industry gained 3% in 1995 to top 9 billion cases--including a 5% jump for Coke Classic.