Dive Brief:

• The expected approval of a 1 peso-per-liter tax on sugary drinks and 8% tax on junk food by Mexico's Congress led to declining shares for Mexican food and drink companies.
• During morning trading, the largest Coke bottler in Latin America, Mexico's Coca-Cola Femsa, saw a drop in shares over 1% and snack maker Bimbo's shares were down over 2%.
• The bill will make Mexico the first major soda market to tax high-calorie sodas.

Dive Insight:

Mexicans drink an annual average of 707 8-ounce servings of soda, making them the industry's biggest consumers—though Americans aren't far behind at 701 servings. As a result, Mexican officials are passing these taxes in an attempt to fight the country's ballooning obesity rate, which has surpassed that of the United States. Whether or not the tax leads to a successful curbing of the obesity rate, it is certain to raise prices, as Coke Femsa executives have said they'll pass it on with a 12-15% price increase. They also plan to cut their workforce by as much as 4%.


Mexicans are the world's biggest soda drinkers, guzzling about 707 8-ounce (0.24 liter) servings, on average, per year, according to U.S. newsletter Beverage Digest. The United States is the only other country in the same ballpark, clocking in at 701 servings.