• Ad Age, Monday, February 1, 2010 10:38 AM

Coca-Cola's juice brands have topped those of PepsiCo in the U.S. fruit-juice market-share war by volume, according to Beverage Digest. Some may blame the fall-out from Tropicana's ill-conceived package redesign, as Natalie Zmuda points out, but Pepsi is not among them. It points its fingers at a surge in private label products.

During the first 10 months of 2009, Coca-Cola's volume share increased 1.1 points to 23.3, while PepsiCo's share fell 2.7 points to 21.8. PepsiCo's Tropicana lost 2.3 volume share points; Coca-Cola's Simply gained 1.6 points and Minute Maid lost a half point.

All the major juice brands are planning major marketing and branding initiatives for the coming year, Zmuda reports, and Beverage Digest editor John Sicher predicts that the category itself is well-positioned for growth domestically and globally. "People now understand that a calorie is a calorie and that refrigerated juices are healthy beverages," he says.

Stuart Elliott reports in the New York Times, meanwhile, that Pepsi has launched a new "Refresh Project" campaign this morning that invites consumers to help it support social causes.

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