Publish Date: September 2026
Updated Tariff & Recession Risk Analysis and Forecasts
The 2026 Soda & Soft Drink Production Market Report covers the $43.8 billion industry which operates within a mature category experiencing volume challenges in traditional full-sugar formats while creating growth through premium positioning, alternative sweetener strategies, and innovative flavors addressing contemporary preferences. Competitive structure remains concentrated among major beverage corporations while facing disruption from entrepreneurial brands pioneering new beverage concepts. Consumer preferences have evolved significantly toward reduced sugar content, natural ingredients, functional benefits, and distinctive flavor experiences beyond traditional cola profiles.
Soda & Soft Drink Production Industry Description
Soda & Soft Drink Production manufactures carbonated and non-carbonated flavored beverages including colas, fruit-flavored drinks, energy drinks, and ready-to-drink teas and coffees. Companies blend water, sweeteners, flavors, acids, and functional ingredients into formulations, then carbonate, fill, and package products through high-speed bottling operations. Manufacturing processes include water treatment, syrup blending, carbonation, filling, capping, coding, and quality testing operations conducted under sanitary conditions with strict quality control. These businesses serve retail, convenience, vending, and food service markets. The industry continuously improves flavor development, production efficiency, and increasingly focuses on reduced-sugar formulations, natural ingredients, functional additives, and packaging innovations that meet consumer preferences for both refreshment and better-for-you alternatives.
NAICS Code: 312111
Number of Companies: 305
Number of Plants / Facilities: 505
Total Employees: 56,733
Market Size: $43.8 billion
TARIFF IMPACT (Summer 2025 – Download Report for Updated Analysis)
This report has in-depth analysis on the recent US tariff changes on material costs, quantifying import dependencies, tariff exposure rates, and key source countries for the soda & soft drink production sector.
Estimated Tariff Cost: $1 billion
Relative Tariff Impact: MODERATE
Soda & Soft Drink Production Report Format
The 2026 U.S. Soda & Soft Drink Production Market Report is 63 pages of deep insights into the trends, dynamics, and forecasts shaping the industry. This market report is utilized by professionals to gain a in-depth understanding of the sector for business strategy, planning, forecasting, benchmarking, industry analysis, valuations, identifying organizational inefficiencies, financial analysis, and more.
This report covers more than 100 statistical data sets with historical trend data from 2017 to 2025, and 2026 and 2030 forecasts. The report includes revenue & cost trends, in-depth OPEX analysis on 26 categories, financial ratio benchmarks, extensive forecasts, inventory trends & analysis, 31 balance sheet benchmarks, company segmentation analysis, industry concentration analysis, production material costs, profit margin analysis, state benchmarks, plant capacity analysis, organizational breakdown, inflation trend benchmarks, wage analysis, employee productivity benchmarks, and more.
Below are a few page images from the report and check out the table of contents for a complete overview.
Report Table of Contents
Review the table of contents to appreciate why thousands of professionals, bankers, consultants, accountants, and other executives rely on Kentley Insights for data-rich industry insights.
The data source for the report is extensive annual expense, revenue, wage, operational, and economic surveys administered by federal and private institutions and filled out by a majority of companies in the soda & soft drink production industry. The forecasts in the report are modeled by our research analysts using the latest economic forecasts, industry analysis, and historical trends.
1-2 – Market Report Overview & Contents
3 – Market Overview
– Data Sources & Methodology
– Sector Definition & Examples
– Market Commentary
4 – Report Synopsis – Revenue & Growth
5 – Report Synopsis – Costs & Profitability
SECTION ONE
REVENUE & GROWTH
7 – Market Size Details
– Industry Revenues, Companies, & Facilities
– Analysis 2017-2025
– 2026 & 2030 Forecasts
8 – Growth Benchmarks
– Sales per Company and Plant
– Analysis 2017-2025
– 2026 & 2030 Forecasts
9 – Product Lines Revenue
10 – BCG Matrix – Income vs. Revenue Growth
11 – Total Industry Sales by Month & Year (2021-2025)
12 – Inventory Value by Month & Year (2021-2025)
13 – Months of Inventory (2021-2025)
14 – Sector Revenue by Segments
– Business Concentration, Size, & Structure
15 – Market Size by State
– Market Size and Rankings
16 – Market Size as a % of State GDP
17 – Sales as a % of State Manufacturing
18 – Market Segmentation by Business Size
19 – Market Segmentation by Business Size
– Business Size Segments – 1-4, 5-9, 10-20, 21-50, 51-100, 101-250, & 250+ employees
– Companies, Facilities, Sales, Employees & Payroll
20 – Segmentation by Concentration (Top 50 Companies)
– Concentration Segments – Top 4, 5-8, 9-20, & 21-50 companies
– Companies, Facilities, Sales, Employees & Payroll
21 – Market Share of Top 50 Companies
22 – Subsector Market Share of Top 50 Companies
23 – Segmentation by Business Structure
– Business Structure Segments – C-Corporations, S-Corporations, Partnerships, & Sole Proprietorships
– Companies, Facilities, Sales, Employees & Payroll
24 – Revenue per Company by State
25 – Revenue per Company by Segments
26 – Revenue per Facility by State
27 – Revenue per Facility by Segment
28 – Subsector Market Size & Growth
29 – Subsector Sales per Company & Plant
30 – 5-Year Consolidation Analysis
31 – Employment Consolidation Analysis
32 – Subsector Consolidation Analysis
– Number of Companies & Facilities
33 – Subsector Consolidation Analysis
– Facilities & Employees per Company
COST, CAPITAL & FINANCIALS
35 – Profitability & Financial Ratio Analysis
Page 36 – Balance Sheet Metrics
– Assets and Liabilities indexed to industry revenue at 100
– 16 Current & Non-Current Assets Categories
– 15 Short-term, Long-term Liabilities, & Net Worth
37 – OPEX
– Industry OPEX Analysis
– 2017-2025 Trends, 2026 & 2030 Forecasts
38 – OPEX by Company & Plant
– OPEX per Company & Plant
– 2017-2025 Trends, 2026 & 2030 Forecasts
Page 39 – OPEX Detail
– 6 Employee Expense Categories
– 8 Cost of Material Categories
– 6 Buildings and Equipment Categories
– 8 Other Operating Expense Categories
-Inventory Breakdown: finished goods, work-in-progress, materials and supplies
40 – Production Material Costs & Tariff Analysis
– Top Production Material Costs Breakdown
– Industry & Material Tariff Analysis – % of costs, import %, tariff costs, source countries
41 – Producer Pricing Index
– 2017-2025 Trends, 2026 & 2030 Forecasts
– Monthly PPI Figures for the Past 4 Years
42 – Plant Utilization & Hours
– Plant Utilization Rate
– Plant Operational Hours per Week
– 2022-2025 Historical Figures by Quarter
43 – Reasons for Non-Full Production
– 7 Categories Quarterly Survey Results for Past 2 Years
44 – Productivity & Employment
– Revenue per Employee
– Total Number of Employees
– Employees per Company
– 2017-2025 Trends, 2026 & 2030 Forecasts
45 – Employee Productivity by Segments
46 – Employee Productivity by State
47 –Subsector Sales & Payroll per Employee
48 – Payroll
– Payroll per Employee, Company, & Plant
– 2017-2025 Trends, 2026 & 2030 Forecasts
49 – Payroll per Company by Segments
50 – Payroll per Plant by Segments
51 – Payroll per Employee by Segments
52 – Payroll per Employee by State
53 – Employee Composition
– % of Employees for 27 Job Categories
54 – Job Categorization Pay Ranges
– Pay Bands – Bottom 10% & 25%, Mean, Top 25% & 10%
55 – Top 20 Jobs Breakdown
56 – Top 20 Jobs Pay
– Pay Bands
57 – Employees per Company by Segments
58 – Employees per Plant by Segments
59 – Facilities per Company by Segments
60 – Total Employment by State
61 – Population to Every Employee by State
62 – Employees per Facility by State
63 – Overview of Kentley Insights
Download a Sample Report
Below is a free sample report download. The 2026 Soda & Soft Drink Production Market Report has the same layout and data sets as the sample report.
Product Lines, Materials, and Jobs Covered in Report
PRODUCT LINES
Soft drinks, bottled, canned, glass, plastic, carbonated
Soft drinks, non-carbonated
Soft drink manufacturing, nsk, total
MATERIAL COST CATEGORIES
Materials, ingredients, containers, and supplies, nsk
Cost of all other materials and components, parts, containers, and supplies consumed
Concentrated liquid beverage bases
Plastics containers (including bottles, jars, tubes, tubs, etc.)
Metal containers, cans, lids, ends, and parts
Plastics products (including packaging, foam products, film, sheet, rod, tube, fabricated shapes, bottles, etc.)
Beet and cane sugar
Wet corn milling products, including corn sweeteners, corn flour, corn meal and feed, and starch
Paper and paperboard products
Canned fruits and vegetables, including tomato paste, concentrated fruit juices, jams, jellies, and preserves
Aluminum and aluminum-base alloy sheet, plate, foil (including packaging products), and welded tubing
Glass and glass products
Water purchased
Honey
INDUSTRY JOBS ANALYZED
Packaging and Filling Machine Operators and Tenders
Chemical Processing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders
Driver/Sales Workers and Truck Drivers
Sales Representatives, Wholesale and Manufacturing
Bartenders
Models, Demonstrators, and Product Promoters
Retail Salespersons
Waiters and Waitresses
Laborers and Material Movers, Hand
Industrial Truck and Tractor Operators
Industrial Machinery Installation, Repair, and Maintenance Workers
Designers
Miscellaneous Agricultural Workers
First-Line Supervisors of Production and Operating Workers
Stock Clerks and Order Fillers
General and Operations Managers
Miscellaneous Production Workers
Inspectors, Testers, Sorters, Samplers, and Weighers
Maintenance and Repair Workers, General
Miscellaneous Food Processing Workers
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