• The Wall Street Journal, Friday, May 2, 2008 10:15 AM

Health concerns, aging Baby Boomers' waning thirst for giant-size sodas and the softening economy are taking the fizz out of the 20-ounce bottle. Sold since the early 1990s, the 20-ounce plastic bottles revitalized U.S. sales for Coca-Cola and PepsiCo by getting Americans to drink larger servings. Often sold at prices similar to a two-liter bottle, they have also been highly profitable.

To win back sales, several Coca-Cola and Pepsi bottlers are conducting tests on a variety of bottle sizes they hope will appeal to consumers looking for options.

For example, Coca-Cola Bottling Co. Consolidated, Coke's second-largest bottler, this week launched a test in about 1,700 convenience stores in Virginia in which it has replaced 20-ounce bottles of Coca-Cola, Diet Coke, and other brands with 16-ounce and 24-ounce bottles. And Pepsi Bottling Group Inc., Pepsi's largest bottler, is testing 12-ounce and 16-ounce bottles in some markets alongside 20-ounce bottles, according to Beverage Digest.

Read the whole story at The Wall Street Journal »