For the past several years, the beverage industry has faced an evolution in consumer demand. A consumer drive toward maintaining overall health and wellness has impacted several categories, particularly carbonated soft drinks (CSDs).

When walking through the aisles of retail stores, one might notice how different the consumer packaged goods (CPG) environment is compared with previous decades.

“It’s no secret that 2013 was a challenging year,” began Larry D. Young, president and chief executive officer of Plano, Texas-based Dr Pepper Snapple Group (DPS), in his address during the company’s fourth-quarter 2013 earnings call.

Within the last five years, global launches of carbonated drinks have grown significantly, according to a December 2012 report by the Netherlands-based Innova Market Insights titled “Carving New Niches for Carbonates.”