The non-alcoholic landscape is diverse, with a core stable of established beverages supplemented by many niche beverages, according to Beverage Marketing's DrinkTell™ database. As a result, there is wide divergence in per capita consumption rates among beverages. In 2016, the growth in per capita volume also varied greatly, indicating that it is worthwhile to look at the stats from several angles to get a true picture.

There is a weak correlation between per capita consumption and per capita volume growth. For example, the two largest beverage types in the U.S. - bottled water and carbonated soft drinks (CSDs) - had similar per capita consumption but diverged in terms of per capita consumption growth. In 2016, CSDs' per capita volume declined by 1.63% while bottled water's per capita volume grew by 7.64%. As a result, bottled water overtook CSDs for the first time during the year, with the former ending 2016 with per capita consumption of 39.34 gallons compared to CSDs' 38.34 gallons.

According to DrinkTell™, more established beverage categories tend to have larger per capita consumption figures than newer ones, although the range in consumption varies widely from segment to segment. Not surprisingly, coffee's per capita consumption of 20.96 gallons dwarfs energy drinks' per capita consumption of 2.03 gallons. However, coffee also has nearly double the average consumption of tea in the U.S. market.

Despite the weak correlation between per capita consumption and per capita volume growth, there are instances in which small beverage segments have an easier task in achieving per capita consumption growth. For example, kombucha tea - with a miniscule per capita rate of 0.07 gallons in 2016 - grew average consumption by 36.86% during the year. Coconut water displayed a similar pattern. That kombucha tea and coconut water will soon reach the billion dollar mark in retail sales, despite such low per capita consumption rates, demonstrates that per capita volume growth may be a more significant data point to track than once imagined.

DrinkTell™ offers a broad range of measures from volume, wholesale and retail dollar category and sub-category data, company and brand sales figures, consumer insights, ad expenditures and much more. DrinkTelligence readers are invited to contact Charlene Harvey at charvey@beveragemarketing.com to request a web-based demo or to visit https://www.beveragemarketing.com/drinktell.asp for details.