Key Points

• Coca-Cola might be the biggest soda name, but it’s not necessarily the best. 
• Pepsi is Coke’s biggest but not necessarily its tastiest competitor. 
• Orange drinks tend to be a favorite Coke alternative.
• Also: Discover “The Next NVIDIA” 

As hard as it might be to believe sometimes, Coca-Cola isn’t the only soda and soft drink game in town. Still, Coke is undoubtedly the largest soda brand with the most name recognition, and it even enjoys a bit of aura with its formula locked up in a vault at the company’s museum in Atlanta, Georgia. However, it’s far from being the only soda Americans love. 

This might come as hard news for Pepsi fans, but Pepsi may not even be the second most favorite soda for Americans as a new champion has emerged in 2024. Still, the Pepsi and Coke rivalry has been something to watch in the soft drink world for some time, with no signs of competition slowing down. Perhaps what’s most interesting is just how many popular Coca-Cola alternatives exist today. 

10. Welch’s

• Year founded: 1869
• Flavor: Grape (and other flavors)
• Color: Dark grape
• Manufacturer: National Grape Cooperative Association

No Big Parent Company

The only Coca-Cola alternative on this list is not owned by a soda giant, Welch’s, is owned by the National Grape Cooperative Association. As a result, the grape drink is unsurprisingly the most popular flavor and is made from Concord and Niagara grapes. Welch’s drinks are one of the biggest surprises in the soft drink world and make for a great flavored soda alternative to the world of Coca-Cola. 

9. Sunkist

• Year founded: 1979
• Flavor: Orange
• Color: Orange
• Manufacturer: Keurig Dr Pepper

The Fanta Competitor 

Often compared to Fanta, as much as it is a popular alternative to Coca-Cola, Sunkist has long been popular with soda fans who want something different. Now available in various flavors, the original orange drink helped make orange the third-best-selling flavor in the United States. In addition to the orange flavor, Sunkist has expanded its menu to include grape, strawberry, Cherry Limeade, Pineapple, Lemonade, Fruit Drink, Orange Mango, and many more flavors. 

8. A&W 

• Year founded: 1919
• Flavor: Caramel, minty vanilla
• Color: Brown
• Manufacturer: Keurig Dr Pepper

The Famous Cream Soda

Famously used at diners to make cream soda drinks, A&W root beer is a fan favorite. Now owned and manufactured by Keurig Dr Pepper, it’s incredible to think that the original A&W Root Beer soda drink sold for just five cents, or nearly $1.00, in 2024 money. Today, A&W is also famous for being one of the first restaurant chains in the US, where the drink became an instant hit as suburbs began to pop up post-World War II. 

7. Canada Dry Ginger Ale

• Year founded: 1904
• Flavor: Golden
• Color: Ginger
• Manufacturer: Keurig Dr Pepper

Ginger Tasting Goodness

One of the most popular sodas not originating in the United States, Americans have nonetheless adopted Canada Dry Ginger Ale as their own. The “dry” in the name highlights the soda’s lack of sweetness, as its golden color is often confused with wine. The drink soared in popularity during Prohibition, when it was used as a mixer with alcohol to help mask the taste, and its soda success has continued ever since. 

6. Fanta

• Year founded: 1941
• Flavor: Orange
• Color: Orange
• Manufacturer: Coca-Cola

Orange Deliciousness

One of the more original founding stories for a soda brand is that Fanta’s origins stem from World War II, when it was difficult to import Coca-Cola into Germany. As a result, the German head of Coke created a new orange-flavored soda for the German market, using only ingredients available in Germany at the time of the war. Discontinued in 1949, production was restarted in 1955 using oranges. Along with Sunkist, Fanta has helped make orange one of the country’s most popular soda flavors and has expanded into other flavors. 

5. 7-Up

• Year founded: 1929
• Flavor: Lemon-Lime
• Color: Colorless
• Manufacturer: Keurig Dr Pepper (PepsiCo)

The 1929 Drink

Ironically, the first release of 7-Up in America came just two weeks after the 1929 Wall Street crash. As it contained lithium citrate, a mood-stabilizing drug, the drink was immediately popular and even promoted as a patent medicine product. Fast-forward to today, 7-Up remains an iconic part of the PepsiCo lineup after being sold by its founders to the soda giant in 1986.

4. Mountain Dew

• Year founded: 1948
• Flavor: Citrus
• Color: Yellow-Green
• Manufacturer: PepsiCo

Tennessee Grown

The little-known history of Mountain Dew involves a formula invented in 1940 by Tennessee bottlers Barney and Ally Hartman. First produced in 1948, PepsiCo later acquired the soda in August 1964 and has since become popular. Mountain Dew is not just a Coke rival but also the most popular citrus soda in the world. Mountain Dew famously provides limited time productions, region-specific, and even in some cases, retailer-specific flavors of the drink. 

3. Sprite

• Year founded: 1961
• Flavor: Lemon-Lime
• Color: Colorless
• Manufacturer: The Coca-Cola Company

The Lemon-Lime Drink

Best known as the lemon-lime soda, Sprite is well-known and highly beloved for its citrusy and refreshing taste. Manufactured and distributed by the Coca-Cola company, its creation is believed to be partially based on Coke having a drink that can rival 7-Up. After its release, Sprite was found to have immediate success as a drink for teenagers. However, the drink’s 1993 slogan change to “Control Your Thirst” was a marketing boon and significantly grew Sprite’s market share into different age groups. 

2. Pepsi 

• Year founded: 1893
• Flavor: Blend of vanilla, caramel, and cola nut
• Color: Caramel E-150d
• Manufacturer: PepsiCo

Coca-Cola’s Biggest Rival

It goes without saying that Pepsi is Coca-Cola’s biggest rival, and there are no signs of this soda battle slowing down. Initially founded in 1893, Pepsi has become a giant all on its own, including releasing 11 different drink versions. Of course, it was the “Pepsi Challenge” as part of the “cola wars” that many Pepsi fans truly remember as the highlight of the two-brand rivalry. 

1. Dr Pepper

• Year founded: 1885
• Flavor: Proprietary combination of 24 flavors
• Color: Caramel
• Manufacturer: Keurig Dr. Pepper (The Coca-Cola Company) 

Second Highest-Selling Soda

Something remarkable happened in the soda world in 2024 as Dr Pepper overtook Pepsi as the second-highest-selling soda in the nation. What’s most unique about Dr Pepper is its flavor, and it has earned the nickname “pepper soda” because it’s in a category of its own as far as taste. Interestingly, Coca-Cola acquired distribution rights for Dr Pepper in 2010, giving it a leg up against Pepsi in the ongoing battle between the two soda giants. 

 

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