Beverage Brands Diverge Across Generations in US
The beverage industry's popularity varies greatly across different generations in the US, according to YouGov's BrandIndex data from August 2025 to July 2026. The study examined how consideration varies among Gen Z, Millennials, Gen X, and Baby Boomers+ when it comes to non-alcoholic beverages.
One of the most notable differences is seen with Starbucks, which has a much higher consideration score among Gen Z (44.9%) compared to Baby Boomers+ (17.8%). On the other hand, Folgers shows an older skew, with its Consideration score being 29.7% among Baby Boomers+ and only 9.5% among Gen Z.
The top 10 beverage brands for each generation were also analyzed. For Gen Z, Coca-Cola ranks first at 45.5%, followed closely by Starbucks (44.9%). In contrast, Gatorade leads the rankings for Gen X (46.5%), more than 11 points ahead of Coca-Cola.
Among Baby Boomers+, Gatorade also ranks first (38.6%), while Lipton and Ocean Spray occupy second and third places, respectively. The analysis highlights that different generations have distinct preferences when it comes to beverage brands.