Healthy eating

There have been several items recently indicating that health-consciousness among consumers is having a significant effect on both retail and manufacturers. Two days ago, we posted about Whole Foods' prediction that they will more than double their sales in the next few years, from $4.7b to $12b. Yesterday we posted that Wal-Mart is planning to double the space they devote to organic products.

Today, two more such items. First, this, a report that US cigarette sales dropped last year to their lowest level in 55 years (and, since US population has almost exactly doubled in that timespan, that means that per capita consumption of cigarettes has dropped to half what it was).

And then, this: Soft drink sales in the US dropped last year for the first time in 20 years.

"The carbonated soft drink business in the U.S. has basic fundamental problems," said John Sicher, editor of Beverage Digest. "This is the first generation of children that are going to grow up not viewing soft drinks as the ultimate treat. They're growing up on things like sports drinks, water and noncarbonated drinks. As these little kids move into late teens and early adulthood, their drinking habits are going to be different than past generations."

Among the five leading brands, Coke/Diet Coke and Pepsi/Diet Pepsi were all down, but Mountain Dew was up. Corporately, Cadbury Schweppes was up slightly, while both Coca-Cola and Pepsico were down.