Pretty much everyone has a preference between co*ke and Pepsi, even though most people can't tell the difference.
So what is the difference?
"Pepsi is sweeter than co*ke, so right away it had a big advantage in a sip test.Pepsi is also characterized by a citrusy flavor burst, unlike the more raisiny-vanilla taste of co*ke. But that burst tends to dissipate over the course of an entire can, and that is another reason co*ke suffered by comparison. Pepsi, in short, is a drink built to shine in a sip test," writesMalcolm Gladwell inBlink, explaining why Pepsi tends to win the Pepsi Challenge.
Turning to nutritional content, Pepsi has slightly more sugar, calories, and caffeine.co*ke has slightly more sodium.
There are also mysterious differences in the natural flavors included in each drink.
Despite these differences, most people can't tell the difference, according to astudyby Samuel McClure and Read Montague: "co*ke and Pepsi are special in that, while they have very similar chemical composition, people maintain strong behavioral preferences for one over the other. We initially measured these behavioral preferences objectively, by administering double-blind taste tests. We found that subjects split equally in their preferences for co*ke and Pepsi in the absence of brand information."
What really matters is branding, andco*ke's brand is more valuable.That's whyco*ke is winning the Cola Wars.
In 2011, co*ke brand held 17 percent of the US soda market, followed by Diet co*ke at 9.6 percent and Pepsi at 9.2 percent, according to Beverage Digest. Meanwhile Diet Pepsi languishes at 4.9 percent after a dearth of ad spending.
DON'T MISS: The REAL Differences Between co*ke And Pepsi People
