Dive Brief:
- In the ready-to-drink tea segment, PepsiCo Inc.'s Pure Leaf is currently blowing away Coca-Cola Co.'s Gold Peak and Honest Tea brands.
- PepsiCo says that its Pure Leaf tea is the only premium tea made with brewed tea leaves. Coca-Cola's Honest Tea is made with brewed tea leaves as well, but PepsiCo said its brand is in direct competition with Gold Peak instead, which is not made with brewed tea leaves in its bottled form.
- PepsiCo boasts 40% of the ready-to-drink tea market, including a partnership with Unilever, Lipton's owner, while Coca-Cola has only 5.5%, according to Beverage Digest. Over the past decade, sales for the overall market have more than doubled.
Dive Insight:
The Coca-Cola vs. PepsiCo battle continues. It's one of the most heated competitions in the food and beverage industries and has recently included such tussles as PepsiCo usurping the NBA partnership from Coca-Cola, Pepsi Cola surpassing of Diet Coke for the No. 2 U.S. soda spot, and Coca-Cola overtaking PepsiCo's exclusive soda advertising spot for the Oscars.