Asahi Group Holdings is a food and beverage company famous for its beer and spirit sales, while also being a fierce competitor in the soft drink market. According to Forbes, it makes a full-year revenue of $15.7bn, with a market cap of $17.8bn. Asahi ranks 635th on Forbes’ “The World’s Biggest Public Companies”. As a soft drink producer, it provides everything from coffee and tea to carbonated drinks, fruit and vegetable juice and water. With 23,619 employees, and its initial foundation dating back to 1949, it centres its headquarters in Tokyo and is famous, according to the company website, for both selling the first canned beer in Japan, and being number one in the Japanese beer market.

With a full-year revenue of $19bn and a market cap of $17.4bn, Kirin Holdings makes #543 on Forbes’ “The World’s Biggest Public Companies” list. It employees 39,733 people, basing its headquarters in Tokyo. Its main products are beverages and pharmaceuticals. According to the company website, it was founded in 1907 when it took over the Japanese Brewery Co., which had been advertising Kirin beer since 1888. It was only after 1923 that soft drinks became a part of the company, an area which eventually became so large, it was separated as its own business entity in 1991. Its reach as a soft drink company spans the world, with branches and products in Oceania, Southeast Asia, China and Brazil.

Formed in 1947 by Luis Cetto, Jugos Del Valle began as a grape juice production company. Currently, it offers 14 brands and 163 soft-drink-based products. Although its offices are located in Mexico City, and they are a Mexican company, its acquisition by Coca-Cola Company in 2007 ensured its place in the global market. Forbes sets its full-year revenue at $20.9bn, with its market cap at $33bn, placing it at #380 on “The World’s Biggest Public Companies”. In 2012, it acquired Santa Clara, a Mexican dairy company, before ultimately integrating in 2016.

Heineken, famed as an Amsterdam-based beer company, produces a wide range of soft beverages for a global market. It makes #316 on Forbes’ “The World’s Biggest Public Companies”, with a full-year revenue of $23bn, and a market cap of $23bn. Begun in 1873, it currently employs 73,525 people, reaching 192 countries around the world. It was founded by Gerard Heineken as a microbrewery, nowadays seeing 25mn Heinekens served every day. In May of 2017, it launched a non-alcoholic beer. According to Business Insider, this was done with the intentions of cornering a market which is “growing faster than average”.

Diageo is a London-based company known for producing beer, wine, and spirits. The Financial Times reports that in 2016, Diageo invested in Seedlip, a non-alcoholic beverage company, bringing it into the soft drinks market. Although initially a UK-based brand, Forbes reports plans by Diageo to bring Seedlip into the United States and Western Europe. Forbes places Diageo’s full-year revenue at $15.2bn, and its market cap at $71.2bn, earning it a rank of #261 on “The World’s Biggest Public Companies” list. Founded in 1997, it now employs 31,485 people and has 200 brands in over 180 countries, placing it prominently in the global market.

Danone, a French food processing company, has a variety of beverage brands under its company flag, including Evian, Aqua, and Bonafont. It makes a full-year revenue of $24.3bn, with a market cap of $42bn. Founded in 1899, it now employs 99,781 people, making #252 place on Forbes’ “The World’s Biggest Public Companies”. Alongside a “Waters” sector, it has an “Early Life Division” which focuses on producing infant milk in compliance with both local laws and standards set by the World Health Organization. It makes #372 on Forbes’ “World’s Best Employers”, and #58 on Forbes’ “World’s Most Valuable Brands”. According to Ad Brands, it is the second biggest producer of bottled water, second only to Nestlé.

Anheuser-Busch InBev is a Belgian-based beverage company with stakes in the global market, its reach spanning across North America, Latin America, Mexico, Europe and Asia Pacific. Forbes establishes the company’s full-year revenue at $45.6bn, with a market cap of $213.1bn. It places #126 on Forbes’ “The World’s Biggest Public Companies”, as well as #54 on Forbes’ “Innovative Companies”. Its company website places the beginning of its legacy in 1366, as the origin of its brewing techniques. Forbes places the founding of the official company as 1977, in Leuven, Belgium. In July of 2017, Anheuser-Busch InBev further solidified its role in the soft drink market by acquiring American energy drink company Hiball.

Coca-Cola is a global beverage company with reach in North America, Latin America, Europe, Asia Pacific and Africa. Forbes places Coca-Cola’s full-year revenue at $41.5bn, and a market cap of $182.9bn. Started in 1886 in the United States, it now offers 500 brands to over 200 countries, according to the company website. Its headquarters is in Atlanta, Florida, and the beverage giant employs 100,300 people. Coca-Cole features on over a dozen Forbes lists. It is #3 on its “World’s Most Powerful Brands”, #5 on “The World’s Most Powerful Brands 2017”, and #67 on “Top Regarded Companies”, among others. With a soft drink offering ranging from energy drinks to soda, coffees, teas, enhanced waters and juices, it ranks #86 on Forbes’ “The World’s Biggest Public Companies”.

Pepsi is an American soft drink company with headquarters in Purchase, New York. According to Forbes, its full-year revenue is of $62.8bn, and it has a market cap of $159.4bn. It ranks #84 on Forbes’ “The World’s Biggest Public Companies”. Begun in 1898 by a pharmacist named Caleb Bradham, it currently places #30 on Forbes’ “The World’s Most Valuable Brands”, and has sponsored the Super Bowl for the past five years. Pepsi’s three main products, Diet Pepsi, Pepsi, and Pepsi Max, make over $1bn in sales each. 

Nestlé is a food and beverage company with major stakes in the soft drinks sector. According to Ad Brands, it is the world’s largest food manufacturer. It ranks #34 on Forbes’ “The World’s Biggest Public Companies”, with a full-year revenue of $90.8bn, and a market cap of $229.5bn. Begun in Switzerland in 1866 by Henri Nestlé as condensed milk factory, it made breakthrough discoveries in infant food production in 1867, according to the company website. It currently oversees 328,000 employees, with headquarters in Vevey, Switzerland, according to Forbes. It is not only the number one producer of bottled water but other drinks brands include Nestea, which is manufactured by Coca-Cola and owned and distributed by Nestlé in the US, and as part of a joint venture across the world.