Duane Stanford, editor and publisher of Beverage Digest, said Sprite has benefited from creative innovation and marketing itself as a way of life, rather than simply positioning itself as a superior lemon-lime soda.
“It also has strong positioning with multicultural consumers, a growing and active segment,” Stanford added.
Sprite is rethinking its media mix, too. The brand is engaging basketball fans and flavor-hackers (creators who toy with unexpected food and drink combinations) on TikTok, while continuing to invest in big TV tentpole moments, such as ESPN’s NBA Christmas games.
Product innovation has also helped the brand take a bigger swig of the soda market.
Sprite Chill, which claims to offer a unique cooling sensation, debuted for a 13-week limited run last year. The drink became a permanent fixture in Coca-Cola’s product roster, and was the top-selling innovation in North America in 2024.
Kroo revealed Sprite Chill has sold $100 million in the past 12 months. The drink has also become a springboard for further innovation, including cherry lime and strawberry kiwi flavors.
“It’s resonating and recruiting new consumers into the brand,” said Kroo. “It’s not just another flavor; it’s an experience.”
Kroo told ADWEEK the Coca-Cola Company plans to invest more in Sprite, underscoring a “recognition of the role Sprite can play” in the business’s long-term growth ambitions across its portfolio.
Sprite is certainly doing something right in recent years to connect with consumers beyond merely investing more in media than its rivals.
When compared to Coca-Cola, Dr Pepper, and Pepsi, Sprite is the smallest advertiser, according to data from marketing intelligence company MediaRadar. Although Sprite is now pouring more dollars into the brand, it was the only beverage among the other category leaders to lower its ad spend in 2024 compared to 2023, decreasing it from an estimated $24 million to $22 million.
Overall, the carbonated soft drink category spent $1.1 billion on advertising in 2024, up 13% compared to 2023.
Soda evolution
One factor behind Sprite’s ability to rise into third place has been Pepsi’s decline.
Put another way: Since 2004, Sprite’s market share of the U.S. carbonated soft drink category increased 2.4 percentage points. Pepsi’s, meanwhile, decreased nearly 3.5 points during the same period.
On a grand scale, the soda industry is shrinking. In 2024, the volume of soft drinks bought in the U.S. was down 27% compared to 20 years prior.
Pepsi’s parent company, PepsiCo, is aware of this shift in consumer preferences. In response, it’s been busy diversifying its portfolio of beverages to better position itself for the future. Beverage Digest’s Stanford, for example, noted that PepsiCo has recently focused on promoting Pepsi Zero Sugar.
