I Don't Believe Many People Prefer Coke or Pepsi

[mrmarklin]

On ‎8‎/‎31‎/‎2018 at 5:54 PM, Carborendum said:

Source for that statistic?

Follow this link.  To brands are Coke, Diet Coke and Pepsi  http://www.nbcnews.com/id/42255151/ns/business-us_business/t/sweet-americas-top-brands-soda/#.W5QToGCWx9N

 

[Guest]

On 9/8/2018 at 1:24 PM, mrmarklin said:

 

That doesn't address "dining out"which was precisely what you were talking about and precisely what I inquired about.

[mrmarklin]

On ‎9‎/‎9‎/‎2018 at 11:32 AM, Carborendum said:

That doesn't address "dining out"which was precisely what you were talking about and precisely what I inquired about.

They're big sellers.  The biggest.  I think that includes dining out.

[Guest]

On 9/11/2018 at 4:56 PM, mrmarklin said:

They're big sellers.  The biggest.  I think that includes dining out.

That's quite an assumption.

My postulate was that colas tend to outsell primarily for two reasons: 

1) Large gatherings simply assume more people will want to drink them, so they buy them for the parties.
2) People want to drink them at work to stay awake.  And it provides variety over the already ubiquitous coffee.

My OP was about people simply wanting to drink them out of sheer enjoyment.  They like the flavor better.  They are more refreshed.  etc. Based on my growing sample size, it is becoming more apparent that in recreational situations, colas are not the preferred soft drink.

You countered with: dining out (a recreational situation) people buy more colas than any other.  So, if that were so, I'd like to see the statistic.  And if true, I'd say "Hmmm.  I guess I was wrong."  But instead, you gave the statistic for "all cola sales" not "dining out" or "recreational situations" which I clearly described (even if I did not explicitly state).

[Iggy]

20 hours ago, Carborendum said:

2) People want to drink them at work to stay awake.  And it provides variety over the already ubiquitous coffee.

My experience with drinking sugary drinks, no matter the flavor, no matter that they are carbonated is this: High fructose, fructose, sugar are carbs. Empty carbs. They add absolutely nothing to your nutrition needs. What they do is overload your poor body and cause it to go to sleep.

Now for children, I think it is under the age of 10, it causes them to go into overload and bounce off of walls and furniture. BUT you said people at work drink the surgery caffeinated carbonated drinks at work to stay awake. Well, they have to be constantly drinking the stuff to stay awake. Arm, hand to mouth motion will keep them somewhat awake.

The best way to wake up is to take half of your lunch time to actually eat a balanced meal, then take a power nap for the other half. Upon waking, drink 8oz of UNSWEETENED apple juice or one apple, walk around your cubicle or office- going to the bathroom will do.

Before I was diagnosed as Type II Diabetic, like years before, this is what my PCP told me to do. Worked like a charm.

Now as a diabetic, with RA, fibromyalgia, hi blood pressure, I was told by all my attending Dr's, Nurse Practitioners, Diabetic Team to quit with the carbonated drinks. They dehydrate you. Even the no sugar no caffeine ones. Those drinks are a detriment to your health!

So, I buy regular Kool-Ade, add only 3/4 or 2/3 of a cup of regular sugar and that is what Hubby and I drink. Mostly he prefers water.

Also, the next time you are nodding off at work, stand up and walk to the break room, get yourself 16 to 32 ounces of PLAIN WATER. The nodding off & yawning is your body trying to tell you it is dehydrated. Drink water. My eldest sister called water Adam's Ale. Got our youngest sibs to drink it, as well as her Sunbeam classes.

[mrmarklin]

23 hours ago, Carborendum said:

That's quite an assumption.

My postulate was that colas tend to outsell primarily for two reasons: 

1) Large gatherings simply assume more people will want to drink them, so they buy them for the parties.
2) People want to drink them at work to stay awake.  And it provides variety over the already ubiquitous coffee.

My OP was about people simply wanting to drink them out of sheer enjoyment.  They like the flavor better.  They are more refreshed.  etc. Based on my growing sample size, it is becoming more apparent that in recreational situations, colas are not the preferred soft drink.

You countered with: dining out (a recreational situation) people buy more colas than any other.  So, if that were so, I'd like to see the statistic.  And if true, I'd say "Hmmm.  I guess I was wrong."  But instead, you gave the statistic for "all cola sales" not "dining out" or "recreational situations" which I clearly described (even if I did not explicitly state).

Seriously?

[omegaseamaster75]

On 9/12/2018 at 5:13 PM, Carborendum said:

That's quite an assumption.

My postulate was that colas tend to outsell primarily for two reasons: 

1) Large gatherings simply assume more people will want to drink them, so they buy them for the parties.
2) People want to drink them at work to stay awake.  And it provides variety over the already ubiquitous coffee.

My OP was about people simply wanting to drink them out of sheer enjoyment.  They like the flavor better.  They are more refreshed.  etc. Based on my growing sample size, it is becoming more apparent that in recreational situations, colas are not the preferred soft drink.

You countered with: dining out (a recreational situation) people buy more colas than any other.  So, if that were so, I'd like to see the statistic.  And if true, I'd say "Hmmm.  I guess I was wrong."  But instead, you gave the statistic for "all cola sales" not "dining out" or "recreational situations" which I clearly described (even if I did not explicitly state).

Honestly the article specifically says total sales, this would include dining out. It is certainly more conclusive that your uber scientific backyard gatherings and causal observation of the beverage counter.

[omegaseamaster75]

On 9/12/2018 at 5:13 PM, Carborendum said:

1) Large gatherings simply assume more people will want to drink them, so they buy them for the parties.

It's not an assumption they are more popular, they sell more. Which in turn means more people drink them.

17 hours ago, mrmarklin said:

2) People want to drink them at work to stay awake.  And it provides variety over the already ubiquitous coffee

I doubt it the caffeine is not equivalent. You would have to drink much more soda. 

[Guest]

On 9/13/2018 at 6:57 PM, mrmarklin said:

Seriously?

What on earth did you think my OP was about?  That Coke is not the #1 selling soft drink in America?  Of course it is.  That is statistically factual.  I even alluded to that in the OP.  Why would you think I was even trying to say it wasn't?

[Guest]

On 9/14/2018 at 12:33 PM, omegaseamaster75 said:

Honestly the article specifically says total sales, this would include dining out. It is certainly more conclusive that your uber scientific backyard gatherings and causal observation of the beverage counter.

Of course it includes it.  But what is the tributary proportion?  Unknown.

I never claimed my data set was scientifically conclusive.  I was simply pointing out a pattern I saw.  So, I was curious if anyone knew of further (more conclusive) data.  And so far, I haven't even heard anything in this thread to contradict my observation.

On 9/14/2018 at 12:35 PM, omegaseamaster75 said:

It's not an assumption they are more popular, they sell more. Which in turn means more people drink them.

That is the point I was trying to say was misleading.  Just because people buy them, does not mean they are preferred.  The phenomenon I described was the alternative explanation.

Yes, they will eventually get drunk simply because someone bought them.  They will sit there when no others do.  So, when someone wants a drink, they will grab what is available. 

But again, look at the situation I described multiple times.  When a variety is available which drinks go first in recreational situations.  This is really the only situation where "preference" is accurately guaged.

On 9/14/2018 at 12:35 PM, omegaseamaster75 said:

I doubt it the caffeine is not equivalent. You would have to drink much more soda. 

Yes, one would.  And they do. 

In my first job after graduation, I knew one co-worker who told me that an office he used to work at offered both coffee and soda for free.  He went up to 12 colas a day (some days more).  Even though his diet was normal in all other ways, he gained over 100 lbs.  When he realized what was going on, he switched to diet colas.  He lost all the weight almost as fast as he gained it.  He still drank 12 or more colas a day

He said the main reason he drank colas was for the caffeine.  Flavor?  Meh.  It was ok.  He wasn't licking his lips to have another taste of cola.  He just wanted the caffeine to work.

Edited September 15, 2018 by Guest

[dahlia]

I'm not drinking Coke. I really dislike the taste. I bring my own Diet Pepsi to work as the campus is a Coke campus unless you go to the convenience store in the hospital (where the soda costs double what it does in the store). I'm not perfect. A little caffeine in the afternoon is often appreciated, but I'd rather drink Crystal Lite with caffeine if I've forgotten my Diet Pepsi than Coke. Gross. 

[Guest]

On 9/23/2018 at 5:42 PM, dahlia said:

I'm not drinking Coke. I really dislike the taste. I bring my own Diet Pepsi to work as the campus is a Coke campus unless you go to the convenience store in the hospital (where the soda costs double what it does in the store). I'm not perfect. A little caffeine in the afternoon is often appreciated, but I'd rather drink Crystal Lite with caffeine if I've forgotten my Diet Pepsi than Coke. Gross. 

We all have our own tastes.  But I have difficulty figuring out why people think there is a difference between Coke and Pepsi.  While there may be some genetic anomaly among a very few people who are capable of detecting minor levels of certain chemicals, the flavors of Coke and Pepsi are virtually indescernible.  I tend to think it's all in their heads.

A co-worker who was anti-Mormon refused to order Coke because he heard that the Church owned Coke (yup old rumor).  He said it was because he could taste the difference and he didn't like it.  But he drank Pepsi all the time.  

So, I challenged him to a taste test.  I did a double blind challenge.  Out of seven cups, he guessed three correctly.

He still won't order Coke at a restaurant.

Yes, some people may be able to tell the difference after drinking many cups of both and learning the difference.  But I think 99% of people can't tell the difference.

[zil]

6 hours ago, Carborendum said:

We all have our own tastes.  But I have difficulty figuring out why people think there is a difference between Coke and Pepsi.  While there may be some genetic anomaly among a very few people who are capable of detecting minor levels of certain chemicals, the flavors of Coke and Pepsi are virtually indescernible.  I tend to think it's all in their heads.

A co-worker who was anti-Mormon refused to order Coke because he heard that the Church owned Coke (yup old rumor).  He said it was because he could taste the difference and he didn't like it.  But he drank Pepsi all the time.  

So, I challenged him to a taste test.  I did a double blind challenge.  Out of seven cups, he guessed three correctly.

He still won't order Coke at a restaurant.

Yes, some people may be able to tell the difference after drinking many cups of both and learning the difference.  But I think 99% of people can't tell the difference.

Erm, in the early 1990s, I could taste the difference between Coke and Pepsi.  And I could only stand Pepsi if it were partially frozen so that it was slushified.  Maybe they've changed the formula(s) since then, I dunno.  Maybe you're the one with the genetic anomaly that prevents you from tasting the difference.

(Full disclosure: I did crack my head open a couple years before first trying Pepsi, but as near as I can tell, that didn't impact my sense of taste.  And I was in Moscow at the time¹, and I know that not all sodas are made the same outside the US as inside the US, so that may also have influenced things.)

¹There were three choices of beverage when out and about in St. Pete: Sewer water (aka bottle tonic water), Pepsi, and Orange Fanta - and at the time, I didn't know I was madly in love with non-US Orange Fanta.

[Guest]

3 minutes ago, zil said:

Erm, in the early 1990s, I could taste the difference between Coke and Pepsi.  And I could only stand Pepsi if it were partially frozen so that it was slushified.  Maybe they've changed the formula(s) since then, I dunno.  Maybe you're the one with the genetic anomaly that prevents you from tasting the difference.

http://www.thejournal.ie/what-difference-coca-cola-pepsi-coke-724181-Dec2012/

[zil]

2 minutes ago, Carborendum said:

http://www.thejournal.ie/what-difference-coca-cola-pepsi-coke-724181-Dec2012/

It's too bad I'm not rich enough to be willing to spend money on it - there are GCs and an LC/MS upstairs and there are vending machines in a couple places...   We could see the grave details.  (I know that one of the analysts had the chart/graph for Coke memorized because people would send it in so often to have it analyzed so they could replicate it - without saying it was Coke they were sending.   I don't think he works here anymore, but that wouldn't matter.)

[NightSG]

9 hours ago, Carborendum said:

But I think 99% of people can't tell the difference.

Unless Pepsi has made major changes since I last bought one accidentally, it has a very astringent effect that I don't get from any other cola.

You must be one of those people with no actual taste buds that thinks diet drinks taste OK. 

[Guest]

1 hour ago, NightSG said:

Unless Pepsi has made major changes since I last bought one accidentally, it has a very astringent effect that I don't get from any other cola.

You must be one of those people with no actual taste buds that thinks diet drinks taste OK. 

Bite your tongue.  I can actually smell sugar and sugar substitutes.  But if you check my link that I gave zil, you'll see that, yes, some people really do notice a difference.  But the vast majority cannot in blind taste tests.  At the same time, I'll admit that the 99% number was hyperbole.

[anatess2]

2 hours ago, Carborendum said:

Bite your tongue.  I can actually smell sugar and sugar substitutes.  But if you check my link that I gave zil, you'll see that, yes, some people really do notice a difference.  But the vast majority cannot in blind taste tests.  At the same time, I'll admit that the 99% number was hyperbole.

Even blindfolded I can tell the difference between Coke and Pepsi and Diet Coke and Coke Zero.  I can't tell the difference between Coke and Caffeine free Coke.

[dahlia]

On 9/27/2018 at 12:57 AM, Carborendum said:

We all have our own tastes.  But I have difficulty figuring out why people think there is a difference between Coke and Pepsi.  While there may be some genetic anomaly among a very few people who are capable of detecting minor levels of certain chemicals, the flavors of Coke and Pepsi are virtually indescernible.  I tend to think it's all in their heads.

I dunno. I was a young teen and came across market research on soda in the mall. I had to drink some of both and see if I could tell which was which.  I knew right away which was Pepsi. Didn't even have to think about it twice. 

[aruth5000]

Pepsi or water for me