Its a rough life for soda makers.
First, bottled water overtook the darling product in 2016 to become the most popular drink in the country, according the Beverage Marketing Corp. Now, Pepsi is pulling the 2-liter bottles and 12-packs of its products from the shelves of Philadelphia grocery stores, the Associated Press reported. That doesn’t just include sodas, but rather all sweetened and diet drinks made by the beverage giant.
The pull back comes after the city of Philadelphia levied a 1.5-cent-per-ounce tax on sweetened and diet beverages on distributors, such as Pepsi, in January.
Pepsi’s soda portfolio includes Pepsi, Mug Root Beer, and Mirinda. Non-soda brands owned by Pepsi include Lipton Iced Tea, Gatorade, Brisk, and Starbucks ready made drinks.