The second article in YouGov’s U.S. beverage rankings 2026 series looks at how consideration varies across Gen Z, Millennials, Gen X and Baby Boomers+ using YouGov BrandIndex data.
Overall rankings can mask important generational differences, with brands performing strongly among some age groups but ranking lower among others.
In this article, we cover how the most considered non-alcoholic beverage brands perform across generations, including the top 10 beverage brands for each generation based on insights from our daily brand health tracker, YouGov BrandIndex.
How do consideration preferences differ across generation compared to gen pop?
Looking at the 25 most considered beverage brands among U.S. gen pop, clear generational differences emerge.
Starbucks shows one of the clearest younger skews in the displayed set: 44.9% Consideration among Gen Z compared with 17.8% among Baby Boomers+, a gap of 27.1 points.
Folgers moves in the opposite direction. Its Consideration score is 9.5% among Gen Z and 29.7% among Baby Boomers+, a 20.1-point older skew.
Other brands that have much higher consideration among Baby Boomers+ than Gen Z include V8 and Ocean Spray. V8 has an 11.7% Consideration score among Gen Z and 27.8% among Baby Boomers+, while Ocean Spray is considered by 17.5% of Gen Z and 31.4% of Baby Boomers+.
Gen Z beverage rankings: Coca-Cola and Starbucks sit almost level at the top
Coca-Cola ranks first among Gen Z, with a Consideration score of 45.5% among the cohort. Starbucks is close behind at 44.9%, giving the youngest audience in this analysis a top two that spans both soft drinks and coffee.
Pepsi ranks third at 36.8%, followed by Sprite at 36.2% and Gatorade at 36.1%. Red Bull, Arizona Iced Tea, Capri Sun, Lipton and Dunkin’ complete the Gen Z top 10.
Gen Z’s 10 most considered brands have a clear mix of familiar carbonated soft drinks, coffee, energy and hydration, tea and juice brands. However, it is clear that caffeine and energy are top of mind when this generation is looking to buy a drink.
Millennial beverage rankings: Coca-Cola narrowly leads Gatorade
Among Millennials, Coca-Cola ranks first at 42.2%, narrowly ahead of Gatorade, which also rounds to 42.2%. Starbucks ranks third at 39.3%.
Lipton ranks fourth at 33.3%, followed by Pepsi at 33.0% and Arizona Iced Tea at 32.2%. Dunkin’, Red Bull, Sprite and Dr Pepper round out the Millennial top 10 list.
Compared with Gen Z, the Millennial ranking keeps many of the same high-profile brands near the top, but Gatorade moves closer to the lead while Lipton also earns a higher place in the consideration set.
Gen X beverage rankings: Gatorade opens up a clear lead
Gatorade ranks first among Gen X at 46.5%, more than 11 points ahead of Coca-Cola at 35.2%. Lipton ranks third at 31.9%.
Tropicana and Minute Maid follow at 31.6% and 30.6%, respectively, while Ocean Spray, Folgers, Arizona Iced Tea, Simply Orange and Dr Pepper complete the Gen X top 10.
The Gen X rankings include more juice and coffee/tea brands near the top of their consideration set than those of younger generations.
Baby Boomers+ beverage rankings: Gatorade leads, while Lipton and Ocean Spray rank highly
Gatorade also ranks first among Baby Boomers+ at 38.6%. Lipton ranks second at 32.2%, and Ocean Spray ranks third at 31.4%.
Folgers ranks fourth at 29.7%, followed by Coca-Cola at 28.1%. V8, Tropicana, Minute Maid, Simply Orange and Aquafina complete the Baby Boomers+ top 10.
The Baby Boomers+ consideration set has coffee, juice and hydration beverage brands occupying most of the top 10.
Explore more beverage brand data
These rankings provide a selected view of the generational beverage data available in YouGov BrandIndex. Deeper analysis can help beverage brands understand whether their position is broad-based or concentrated among specific consumer groups.
In a beverage brand briefing, YouGov can walk through:
- Full generation-specific rankings across tracked beverage brands
- Audience cuts beyond generation, where available
- Competitor benchmarks across Consideration, Purchase Intent, Awareness, Value, Quality and other BrandIndex metrics
- Year-over-year movement by audience and metric
- Trend data showing how brand health changes over time
Methodology
This article draws on YouGov BrandIndex data collected from 1 August 2025 to 31 July 2026. The analysis compares beverage brand consideration among Gen Z, Millennials, Gen X and Baby Boomers+.
Minimum bases are n> 2,110 for Gen Z, n> 3,980 for Millennials, n> 3,770 for Gen X and n> 6,410 for Baby Boomers+.
Consideration is reported as the percentage of respondents who would consider purchasing each brand the next time they are in the market for beverages.
Metric question: Consideration: When you are in the market next to purchase beverages, from which of the following would you consider purchasing?
Sample sizes vary by asset and are shown in the notes accompanying each chart.
Disclosure: The data analysis in this article was conducted by YouGov with the assistance of AI tools.
About YouGov BrandIndex
YouGov BrandIndex is an always-on brand tracking tool that measures consumer perceptions of thousands of brands across sectors and markets. It helps marketers monitor brand health, benchmark competitors, identify audience-specific strengths and weaknesses, and understand how perceptions change over time.