Shops here and in much of the country, report declines in soft drink sales ranging from 10 to 75 percent.

Coke is also running radio advertisements, and billboards designed to increase drink sales in restaurants in those areas.

While still a gurgle compared with soft drink sales ($50 billion annually), the growth is expected to inspire more companies to join the field.

For the company as a whole, soft drink sales increased by 5 percent during the quarter.

In the United States, soft drink sales increased 8 percent, to $1.1 billion.

By June, when soft drink sales usually start to rise, the numbers showed the new formula was leveling among consumers.

Last year, soft drink sales increased by 2.6 percent, while water sales went up 7 percent.

He had yet to make profit on drink sales today.

Over the last year, soft drink sales barely grew.

Soft drink sales last year were £115million, less than a tenth of the group's revenue.