Is soft drinks a oligopoly

Answer 1

According to the "Beverage Digest," two companies controlled approximately 70% of this industry in 2009 -- Coca-Cola Co. at 41.9% and PepsiCo at 29.9%. Their nearest competitor was Dr. Pepper Snapple at 16.4%, then Cott Corp. (Cott, RC, Vintage, and other brands sold through Wal-Mart and other retailers) at 4.9%. This market has been termed a "differentiated product oligopoly" -- that is, they differentiate themselves on the basis of product characteristics but use three main methods of promotion -- price (mostly promotional offers), advertising, and new brands. "New brands" is sometimes product extensions such as Diet Coke or Pepsi, but can also include entirely new products (such as Mello Yello [Coca-cola] and Sierra Mist [PepsiCo]).