Soft drink
A
soft drink is a
drink that contains no (or very little)
alcohol, as opposed to a hard drink, which does contain alcohol. In general, the term is used only for cold beverages. The term originally referred to
carbonated drinks.
Marketing
Soft drinks are commonly sold in stores in bottles and cans. They are also sold in restaurants and bars as fountain drinks made from packaged syrup. In the U.S. and other countries, vending machine sales earn a significant amount of money for the producers and distributors. Most famous name-brand soft drinks are produced and bottled by local or regional independent bottling companies. These companies license the name and are usually sold the main ingredients (syrup) made by the main manufacturing plants of the trademark holders. For example, unless you live in Georgia or nearby, a can of Coke® will likely be from a facility near the point-of-purchase. In the past, most Cola and other soft drinks were sweetened with ordinary sugar (sucrose), but to save on production costs (due to high sugar tariffs imposed on sugar imported into the United States), most companies have turned to the more economical corn syrup as a sweetener in the United States. In some countries outside the United States, sugar is still used.
\nDiet soft drinks
In recent years, there has been a growing demand for alternatives to sugar-heavy soft drinks. "Regular" soft drinks, being largely processed sugar or corn syrup, have been blamed in recent years for contributing to obesity in the United States and elsewhere. Sugars, like other carbohydrates stimulate the production of the hormone insulin, which causes the body to store fat, rather than burn it. "Diet" soft drinks are sweetened with chemicals, such as aspartame and saccharin, that are perceived as sweet by most people, yet do not stimulate insulin production. Nor do they have any calories or nutritional value.
"Cola wars"
Competition in the industry among soft drink producers is widely referred to as the cola wars.
\nNaming conventions
Pop vs. soda vs. coke in North America
In North America, "soft drink" commonly refers to cold, non-alcoholic beverages. Carbonated beverages are regionally known in the Midwest and most of Canada as "pop." In Quebec they are called soft drinks. In the Northeast, parts of the South (near Florida) and Midwest (near St. Louis), and California, they are known as "soda." New Englanders sometimes refer to it as "tonic." In Atlanta and some other parts of the South, they are generically called "coke". (Atlanta is home to the Coca-Cola Corporation). The Pacific Northwest, being a melting pot of America, uses both "pop" and "soda," however, for most people, "pop" comes in a bottle, and "soda" comes from a fountain or can. Elsewhere they are called "soda pop."\nSee The Great Pop vs. Soda Controversy for maps and geographical trends.
Internally, the Coca-Cola Company (and probably other such corporations) uses the term "non-alcoholic uncarbonated beverage".
\nNames in other regions
In German, soft drinks are known as Limo short for Limonade, the German word for lemonade, but in America lemonade is an uncarbonated beverage, generally not considered a soft drink.
In Swedish, soft drinks are called läsk which comes from läskande drycker (roughly - refreshing drinks) and denotes carbonated non-alcoholic soft drinks. The word lemonad has more or less the same use as the English word lemonade, but belongs to a slightly higher level of style than läsk.
In Australia and New Zealand, "soft drink" almost always refers to carbonated beverages. "Lemonade" can refer to "lemon drink", but most of the time means clear soft drink (i.e. Sprite, 7-Up, etc.)
In India, soft drinks go by a variety of names including "juice", "soft drinks", "cold drinks" and "cool drinks". "Soda" in India refers generally to carbonated water and not artificially flavored, carbonated beverages.
In the United Kingdom the term originally applied to carbonated drinks ("pop") and non-carbonated drinks made from concentrates ("squash"), although it now commonly refers to any drink that does not contain alcohol. To further confuse matters, alcopops are often called "alcoholic soft drinks". The term "pop" is mainly restricted to the north of England.
In Scotland, soft drinks are commonly known as "ginger", presumably referring to an early "soft drink", ginger beer.
In Japan, soft drinks are commonly refered as "juice" and younger generations refer as "drink", a shortened term for "PET-bottle drink". Non-carbonated drinks capture the majority of soft drink market and their main rivals are variety of bottled green tea and tea. Canned and bottled coffee has equally large market share and carbonated drink market is smaller in contrast to other nations. Coca-Cola split the carbonated market with Mitsuya Saidaa, a sweet clear carbonated drink, and Pepsi lags behind these two entering the market only in the 90s. Lime flavored drink (Mountain Dew and Sprite) holds almost no market share or marketed with only a touch of lime flavor.
List of soft drinks (by country)
Austria
\n*Almdudler (Flavoring by herbs and flowers)\n*Pago (Mix of fruit juices)\n*Red Bull (Energy drink)
Brazil
\n*Guaraná Antarctica
Canada
\n*Cott (World's leading distributor of carbonated soft drinks)
Denmark
\n*Dansk Citronvand (Carbonated lemonade)\n*Jolly Cola (Cola)
France
\n*Mecca-Cola ("politically committed" cola aimed at Muslims).\n*Orangina (orange flavoured fizzy drink).\n*Pschitt! (lemonade)
Germany
\n*Afri-Cola
India
\n*Campa-Cola \n*Limca (lime flavored, carbonated drink)\n*Mazaa (mango, non carbonated drink)\n*Thums Up\n*Gold Spot (orange flavored, carbonated drink)\n*Frooti\n*Funday\n*Rim Zim
Iran
\n*Zam Zam Cola
Japan
\n*C.C\n**C.C. Lemon\n**C.C. Grape\n*Nattyan\n*Ramune\n*Qoo
Latvia
\n*Kvast (Syrup flavored)\n*Kvass
Malta
\n*Kinnie (Black-orange with bitter)
Mexico
\n*Chaparrita (variously flavoured soft drinks in small bottles)\n*Pascual Boing (concentrated sweetened fruit juice).\n*Peñafiel (natural sparkling flavoured mineral water).\n*Sidral Mundet (apple soft drink).\n*Titán (gooseberry flavoured soft drink).
New Zealand
\n*L&P (Lemon and Paeroa) is now made by the Coca-Cola Company.
Peru
\n*Inca Kola (Yellow colored and a fruity taste)\n*Kola Real
Russia
\n*Kvass, a low-to-non alcoholic beverage made from fermented grains.
South Africa
\n*Appletize (apple flavoured soft drink)\n*Grapetize (grape, red and white, flavoured soft drink).
Spain
\n*Kas (orange- [yellow], lemon- [greenish-yellow] or apple- flavoured soft drink)\n*Mirinda (soft drink with orange colour and flavour)\n*Tri-Naranjus (non-carbonated soft drink)
Sweden
\n*Enbärsdricka (Traditional stout-like, very sweet soft drink)\n*Svagdricka ((Traditional stout-like, soft drink similar to Kvass)\n*Julmust (Traditional stout-like, very sweet seasonal soft drink)\n*Sockerdricka (Traditional sweet-sour soft drink)\n*Fruktsoda (Traditional lemon-lime soft drink)\n*Champis (Soft drink alternative to sparkling wine)\n*Pommac (Soft drink alternative to sparkling wine)\n*Cuba Cola (Cola)
South Korea
United Kingdom
\n*Dandelion and burdock\n*Ginger ale (available with or without alcohol)\n*Irn Bru (Caffeinated soft drink made in Scotland)\n*Lucozade\n*Qibla Cola\n*Ribena\n*Tango\n*Tizer\n*Tonic water (Carbonated water flavored with quinine)\n*Vimto
United States
\nFifty states
\n*7Up (Dr Pepper/7Up, Inc [in the United States])\n*Ale-8-One (a ginger-and-fruit drink distributed mostly in Kentucky with a cult following in the central part of that state)\n*Barq's root beer (the only major American root beer with caffeine; Coca-Cola Company)\n*Big Red Texas Cream\n*Canada Dry Ginger Ale (Dr Pepper/7Up, Inc.)\n*Coca-Cola (Coca-Cola Company)\n*Cream soda (often a vanilla-flavored soft drink) (Traditional soft drink)\n*Crush (Dr Pepper/7Up, Inc.)\n*Diet Rite (diet cola produced by Dr Pepper/7Up's R.C. unit)\n*Dr Pepper (Dr Pepper/7Up, Inc.)\n*Fanta (Coca-Cola Company)\n*Faygo (line of soft drinks)\n*Fresca\n*Ginger ale (Traditional soft drink)\n*Green River\n*Hires root beer\n*Jolt Cola\n*Jones Soda\n*Mountain Dew (PepsiCo)\n*Moxie (the first American mass produced soft drink)\n*Mug root beer (PepsiCo.)\n*Old Town (line of soft drinks)\n*Patriot's Choice (Cola)\n*Pepsi (PepsiCo)\n*Pibb (Dr Pepper imitator; formerly known as Mr. Pibb) (Coca-Cola Company)\n*President's Choice (Cola)\n*R.C. Cola (Dr Pepper/7Up, Inc.)\n*Red Rock Cola\n*Root beer (Traditional soft drink)\n*Safeway Select (Cola)\n*Sams Choice (Wal-Mart brand drink)\n*Sarsaparilla soda (Traditional soft drink)\n*Schweppes Ginger Ale\n*Shasta (Cola)\n*Sierra Mist (7Up and Sprite clone) (PepsiCo)\n*Slice (orange soft drink) (PepsiCo)\n*Squirt (Dr Pepper/7Up, Inc)\n*Sprite (Coca-Cola Company)\n*Stewart's Fountain Classics\n*Sunkist (orange only) (Dr. Pepper/7 Up, Inc.)\n*Tab (soft drink)\n*Teem Soda\n*Vernors Ginger Ale (the first American soft drink)\n*Welch's (soft drinks) (Dr. Pepper/7 Up, Inc.)\n*Yoo-Hoo (chocolate flavored soft drink)
Puerto Rico
\n*Coco Rico, (Coconut flavored soft drink)\n*Kola Champagne (despite a name that suggest an alcoholic drink, Kola Champagne is actually a soft drink)\n*Old Colony, (soft drink that is produced in grape and pineapple flavors)
External links
\n*National Soft Drink Association (US)\n*The Great Pop vs. Soda Controversy\n*BevNET - The Beverage Network
\n\nCategory:Soft drinks
