Mr. Hemphill said Pepsi was busy in the 1990's marketing juices and alternative beverages with its acquisitions of Tropicana and Gatorade.

While full strength beer is generally the preferred beverage, some races allow consumption of alternative beverages such as light beer, malt beverages, or milk.

Its consumption spread beyond there to England and Germany before the rise of coffee and tea and it was later offered as an alternative beverage in coffee houses.

Worse yet, the field in which Snapple has competed, known as New Age or alternative beverages, has lost momentum as fickle shoppers returned to soft drinks.

Our regular waiter pulled a long face when he saw us, carefully explained the new order of things and suggested 7Up as an appropriate alternative beverage.

People who drink diet colas tend to be a little older," he added, "and they are drinking alternative beverages like teas and bottled water.

But Coke has been slow to invest in alternative beverages, and it trails PepsiCo in both sports drinks and juices.

The program taught waiters how to use "suggestive selling techniques" to offer an onslaught of alternative beverages when diners asked for water.

Coca-Cola stated that customers chose tap water out of habit, and that selling alternative beverages would increase guest satisfaction:

The drink was marketed as a "texturally enhanced alternative beverage" but some consumers compared it to a portable lava lamp.