In H1, the domestic bottler of PepsiCo products saw non-carbonated drinks register half the growth rate of "sparkling" drinks, a result contrary to the one registered by the overall soft drinks market.

Sales of carbonated soft drinks distributed by Pepsi Americas Romania increased by 16% in terms of volume in H1 against the same period in 2007, double the rate posted by non-carbonated drinks from the company?s portfolio, reads a report by the US company.

However, non-carbonated drinks are still the stars of the Romanian soft drinks market and generate much stronger sales than carbonated ones. Over the past year, the company has directed its promotional budget primarily toward Pepsi and Mountain Dew, but the recently announced 3m-euro investments to relaunch Prigat could breathe new life into the company?s domestic portfolio of non-carbonated juices.

Over the last few years, Prigat has lost some of its market share on the still drinks segment that it led back in 2004. Still drinks account for around 80% of domestic sales of non-carbonated soft drinks, which explains why companies on the market are so interested in this segment. The domestic portfolio of Pepsi Americas includes Pepsi, Mirinda, 7UP, Mountain Dew and Everess Tonic carbonated drinks, while the segment of non-carbonated drinks includes Prigat juices and nectars, Lipton tea and Gatorade sports drinks. The Pepsi bottler also owns Roua Muntilor mineral water brand.

The strong growth rate posted on the carbonated drinks segment could be due to Pepsi?s image change, a move announced last spring.

In Romania, multinationals Pepsi Americas and Coca-Cola Hellenic dominate the carbonated soft drinks segment, which is worth over 1.2 billion litres per annum.

This year, Romanian operations have supported Pepsi Americas? growth, the company?s financial reports also show.