Here’s a fun post on changing beverage dominance.
CBS News reports PepsiCo says it will shut down manufacturing operations in Detroit
“PepsiCo Beverages U.S. recently announced the shutdown of manufacturing, transport and maintenance operations at our Detroit site. Our warehouse, fleet, delivery, sales and field service teams will continue to operate at this location,” said the statement from PepsiCo Beverages U.S. “We are committed to supporting those impacted through this transition, and we are offering pay and benefits to impacted employees.”
According to the company, 84 employees, including 51 operations technicians, will be affected by the changes at the Mack Avenue plant, effective Sept. 27.
A notice about the layoffs was posted to Michigan’s Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act site.
The State of Michigan routinely posts such notices online after they have been received and processed by the Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity. The details cited in those letters typically include how many people are affected and their job roles.
In the grand scheme of things this rates a big zero. Only 84 employees are impacted.
Fox News reported the plant employed 400 total as recently as 2020.
Coca Cola Is Dominant
The layoffs come less than a year after PepsiCo closed four plants across the country – in Cincinnati, Chicago, Atlanta, and Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. Those plants were closed after soft quarterly reports.
A week ago, PepsiCo reported better-than-expected numbers for the second quarter.
However, Pepsi’s sales have declined over recent years and in May, the company was knocked off of the second-most popular of America’s best-selling soft drinks.
Coca-Cola dominates the landscape, accounting for almost 20% of all carbonated sodas, followed by Dr. Pepper, then Sprite, before Pepsi at number 4, followed by Diet Coke.
Fun Numbers
Sprite is owned by Coca-Cola. So Coca-Cola has the #1, #3, and #5 spots. Pepsi is way down the list at #4.
Dr. Pepper, Squirt, and Canada Dry are owned by Keurig Dr Pepper
Decades ago, I used to drink massive amounts of Pepsi. Then I shifted to diet Pepsi to stop weight gain. I shed pounds fast. Eventually, also decades ago, I stopped drinking both Pepsi and diet Pepsi.
I don’t drink any Coke products at all, and never did. But I do drink diet Mountain Dew, a Pepsi product.
I don’t like either Sprite or 7-Up but I do like Squirt.
Perhaps I should switch to diet Squirt to avoid the caffeine in Mountain Dew.
I am still mad a Squirt for removing the real fruit that was in it.
There’s nothing like the taste of a Pepsi made with real sugar to go with my husbands homemade cheeseburgers and my homemade potato salad. It’s ok to splurge once a month. The rest of the time I drink water.
Don’t give up the diet Dew!
People criticize the drinking of soda pop, like Michael Bloomberg when he was mayor of New York City. The consumption of pop, however, because of its benefits to mental state, has a few things to say for it. If all it takes is a swallow of carbonated sugar water to boost your mood, why pooh-pooh it?
Life is hard enough as it is without its treats. If you’re exercising regularly, and keeping your mind intact & healthy, you can afford the occasional — emphasis on occasional — treat, whether it be soda pop or sweet ice cream.
The problem appears when gluttony rises its ugly head, and people indulge on a regular basis, over and over, without a break. Then it’s time to take a break from sweets and let your body recuperate.
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Dark . Sport. Blog is my fascinating website — come see me there!
So the govt is on a big health kick and Trump lives on mccdonalds lol.
I’m so glad I chose a year of free time over a daily toxic bellywash or two.
Water is free. Saving $5/day on non-nutritional drinks for 30 years enables retiring 1-2 years earlier. (Compounded return at 4% after inflation: $107,874.84.)
And now that I’m older and retirement date isn’t at issue, I’ve still got better uses for my money.
So Coke owns the drink isle and Pepsi owns the chip isle. Who cares I always buy off brands or store brands. I give them nothing these are bullies that destroy fair competition same goes for the big brewers, Poor products at high prices.
Just drink water or club soda and stop polluting your bodies with this crap.
Repressing my urge to make fun of some of you, I think the wider trend is that young people prefer energy drinks and cheap teas. Nobody can afford brand name sodas when it’s $10 for a 12 pack. At the checkout in the grocery, a single 12 ounce bottle of coke was $4. Meanwhile a jug of Arizona is $4 at my grocery. Personally I’ve gone back to Tang, which gets you two gallons for $6. Squinchers also has bulk mix to get you 13 gallons for $30
Sounds like we’re in need of a good ole fashioned recession. Haven’t had a real one in about 16 years.
We are in the middle of one?
I think it started in 2023 – not due to usual politics but because someone has to start paying for the COVID vacation.
Not officially according to the NBER. Not according to the stock market or the labor market . . . but the bottom 50% in income earners probably feel that way.
The biggest secret of Coca-Cola recipe is that there is no secret, save a good story for the gullible. Coca-Cola emerged as the winner of quack drinks that proliferated at the turn of the century, that used moderate drugs and plenty of sugar. The latest variation is caffeine.
There has been a parallel industry of liquors.
Kennedy Jr. will chalk it up as MAHA event. The more of it, the healthier world.
America potentially shutting down a 237 year old operation as early as 2030.
Probably depends upon how much money they print and who wants it.
In Related News
Trump’s Tariffs Are Being Picked Up by Corporate America – WSJ
As expected, this is the quasi / vague statement that needs actual data and not what appears to be a supposition on the part WSJ. For all we know, it could be a lot more than “some”, which depending on the cost of the item in many cases might be way higher than some & “signs”.
“There are signs that some foreign suppliers, particularly of Chinese goods now carrying an extra 30% tariff, have trimmed some prices to help out.”
I havent seen anyone drinking a dr pepper in years.
I to gave up soda.
I’m old fashioned. I drink water.
However this is a harbinger of changing values. I read about “quality” in
https://english.elpais.com/culture/2025-07-20/the-bewildering-phenomenon-of-declining-quality.html
and I agree that things have really changed while I maintain old fashioned values of reliability, functionality, longevity in the face of a shift to looks and appeal. Sadly to make financial gains I will probably need to invest in orgs chasing the new values.
We stopped ALL carbonated beverages long ago. GARBAGE in a Can or Bottle.
But, to be honest, I love Wine. It is my go-to Poison.
Name a more convenient supply of fructose.
Normal people just squeeze a half lime in a glass of water.
It can taste deceptively good and even healthy, but careful with alcohol and calories.
All these “soft drinks” are diabetes juice.
I drink 2 coke zeros and 1 ghost energy when I get up. The rest of the day seldom have anything but water and a lot of it. I frequent the bathroom. Imo nothing beats a Mcdonald’s Coke. You need it to powerwash their cheese off the back of your throat.
I was developing high pressure, and thought it might be due to the large amounts of caffeinated beverages I was consuming. So, last year, I quit. Sure enough, after a month my blood pressure returned to normal..
For years, my blood pressure was in a range of 115-125 (I’m 66). About a year ago, I was getting readings in the 140s-150s. The only change I could think of was using Keurig pods to make my coffee rather than brewing it from grounds (I loved the convenience). I was wondering if the micro-plastics in the pods combined with high temperature water or perhaps something in the manufacturing process of the pods was responsible. I stopped using Keurig pods to make my coffee and went back to brewing it myself and within a few weeks, my blood pressure returned to the 115-125 range. I am probably drinking more coffee than before so it was not the caffeine.
Convenience kills!
Hmmmm….
Why would anyone drink any of that including Dew. Addiction. Biggest ingredients. Water HFCS
Thx for supporting IL farmers.
“In the grand scheme of things this rates a big zero. Only 84 employees are impacted.”
Hadn’t browsed Daily Job Cuts in a long time. Under “layoffs” today, was “Intel – 24,000 employees this year“
The best carbonated beverage in my house is made with Nuun electrolyte tablets. Natural sugars, not cane or HFCS. We are busy flexing about getting off HFCS when we are just subbing with cane sugar? Stupid Americans.
Bigger picture.
Less HFCS is good for a person, but is even better for the environment. There is a lot of effort in the Corn Belt to grow oceans of the stuff…cutting back on the subsidized production of HFCS is a win on multiple levels.
Maybe a reduction in corn ethanol will be next.
I’m still partial to chocolate phosphates.
You should watch this video about the soda addiction in the state of Utah. I was absolutely stunned at the amount of soda these individuals drink per day. It’s an epidemic.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BlNJc_OLbYw&t=295s&ab_channel=TylerOliveira
I recommend kombucha. The Synergy brand is probably the best, IMHO.
Mountain Dew contains the following ingredients: carbonated water, concentrated orange juice, high fructose corn syrup, citric acid, natural flavors, sodium benzoate, caffeine, sodium citrate, erythorbic acid, gum arabic, and calcium disodium EDTA. Additionally, it includes artificial color, specifically Yellow 5, which is a common food additive.
We have local kombucha makers. If you have them in your area they are worth a go. Beyond the value of supporting local artisans, which varies between consumers, there is the quality and healthy aspect of drinking something small batch and made with local ingredients (e.g. local bees for honey helps immunity).
I never liked kombucha before trying the local stuff, and the business owner then became a friend. Cool beans.
An eighty years old man 300lbs was walking upstairs, in the Fed building, without using a rail or a cane. When Trump walked together with JP the 120lbs JP dragged his impaired right foot.
Dunning Kruger student gets an A+
In looking for a change myself, away from so much caffeine, I have been drinking ICE. It’s a 16oz. Carbonated beverage, with 70mg of caffeine (a cup is generally 35mg). Not sure how good/bad it is in comparison to others, but I just started and have not done that research. Now that I like the flavor, I will have to see how it rates. Anyone else try These? Seems to have removed any jitters from 5-6 cups a day or more depending. The 16 oz makes it last a long time, and I do have 2 on some days, so that’s up to 70mg a day…
1/2 jigger of reconstituted lemon juice, 1/4 grain saccharin, 12 oz filtered tap water from the ice box (sic).
If you need a caffeine dose, the Stay Awake pills in any grocery or drug store offer 200mg of caffeine per pill and are very cheap, less than a cup of coffee for a box of them! You can even cut the pills in quarters or halves to adjust the caffeine dosage you want.
You don’t need to buy expensive coffee or other drinks to get your caffeine boost.
High percentage dark chocolate (85-95%) also contains a lot of caffeine though the labels never specify how much.
I was given a ginger ale after my last surgery. They said it was good for coming out of the anesthesia.
Otherwise, I haven’t drank soda in decades. I generally only drink good old H2O, perhaps an iced tea if I go out somewhere. I know – BORING!
My fresh gyokuro green tea was shipped from Japan. The harvest season: Apr/June.
Honest ginger ale is good for you in that situation, but the majority of “ginger ale” is not made with real ingredients anymore. The airlines’ cans are all just flavored bellywash without any actual ginger.
Mountain Dew is the OG Red Bull. Pure sugar and caffeine! hahaha
I like it. And Code Red.
When I lived in South Carolina, I used to see many drinking that poison at 8:00 AM.
Vernor’s, Bundaberg, Goslings Ginger Ale or 7 Up for me…
Remembering 7&7 back in the day…
Used to drink the occasional Coca~Cola but now that Trump and his sycophants are promoting it? No way!
A also like Fresca…
>
I still enjoy a 7&7 from time to time.
Vernors is such a curious creation, I think of it as half spicy ginger ale (spicier than Canada Dry) and half cream soda. Those crazy Michiganders
Vernor’s was the best back when it was made with real sugar, not corn poison.
Canfields Beverage on the south side of Chicago. 50 / 50 drink.
Check out the ph of Mountain Dew
Thanks
Check out the pH of your stomach. DMD is nothing in comparison. Tastes way better than coffee.
Unfortunate it passed your teeth before it hits your stomach.
By pouring some in a calcified toilet bowl?
There is available data on all soda, energy drinks available for ph . If you drink high ph drinks regularly your teeth will be yellow little nubs in a decade.
Or you could test it in a toilet bowl I guess
I don’t drink colas… The ones with really sugar are fattening. And there are a lot of fatties pushing their cola laden carts down wal mart aisles…. The diet colas taste like, well like diet cola… not a good taste..
Ice tea for me.. make my own,, and way less expensive than buying store stuff….
PS,, 73yo,, 5-10,, 150# … and I don’t have any prescription drugs in my life.. or any ailments…
Dont worry, they’ll just import Beijing Cola, its good, except for the soy/fish aftertaste
The caffeine in Mountain Dew is the only reason to drink it. Long haul driving was the only time I drank it.
It works well for round-the-clock emergency coding and bugfixes.
Pepsie used to have more lemon flavor to it. Cane sugar also improved the flavor. I think Coke has a hint of cinnamon in it, which I don’t care for. Mountain Dew is my favorite.
Cane sugar is coming back thanks to Kennedy;s war on corn syrup.
I love the taste of Mexican coke or Pepsi made with cane sugar. One or two a month is refreshing.
Pepsi reintroduced sugar like 5 years ago. Look for the “With real sugar” labeling on the label (in pretty big print at that).
That also immediately undercut all the “mexican pepsi” imports, but if you want cocke with sugar you still have to go mexican.
I’ve always liked Squirt – great grapefruit flavor.