Pepsi reveals a new solution to declining sales

BY: Hayley Fitzpatrick
Millennials are steering away from soda, and PepsiCo is investing in healthier options to keep up with them. PepsiCo recently announced a new line of carbonated craft beverages called "Stubborn Soda."

The sodas are set to hit, "foodservice customers in select regions on fountain as early as this summer," the company said in a statement. The line is made up of six natural flavors with no high fructose corn syrup.

The flavors include black cherry with tarragon, root beer, lemon berry acai, agave vanilla cream, orange hibiscus and pineapple cream.

The announcement of this line follows PepsiCo's launch of two other projects, a craft soda, Caleb's Kola, and a soda made with real sugar, Mountain Dew Dewshine. Diet Pepsi is removing aspartame from its recipe after sales declined more than 5% last year.

The success of Stubborn Soda on fountain will most likely impact whether or not the drink is eventually sold in bottles or cans. With sales of carbonated soft drinks declining, PepsiCo's creation of this Fair Trade Certified Cane Sugar soda is a sign of its desire to connect with healthier consumers.

"The total sales volume of carbonated soft drinks slid 0.9 per cent from 2013 to 2014. Within that category, Coke posted a 1.1 per cent drop in volume, and Pepsi saw a 1.4 per cent decline," according to CNBC.

Many in the industry expect that brands like Coke and Pepsi will continue moving away from traditional soda as Americans grow to prefer other beverages.