Pepsi Pulls Six Packs from Philly Stores Over Bev Tax

The soda aisle might look a little sparse in the coming days: Pepsi announced it’s pulling six-packs and two-liter bottles from stores in Philly and it’s blaming the beverage tax. The City of Brotherly Love just levied a 1.5 cent per-ounce tax on sweetened and diet beverages. Ouch. 

So Pepsi announced it’s pulling its products, which include Mountain Dew, Gatorade, and Lipton Iced Tea, until it can figure out package sizes consumers can better afford, rather than passing on an almost $1.50 increase because of the tax. 

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The city’s decision comes from a good place: reducing the consumption of sugary drinks in order to help fight obesity, tooth decay, and other health conditions like diabetes. This type of tax isn’t new, of course.

You might remember when then-NYC Mayor Bloomberg proposed a jumbo-soda ban and it was summarily struck down by the New York State Court of Appeals in 2014. 

Results in Philly are a mixed bag. While some consumers said they’re definitely cutting their soda consumption due to the hike in prices, others said they’re willing to go out of state to purchase it. And of course, this will definitely affect storeowners who are losing customers looking to stock up on sweet bevs. Still, the tax works. 

This kind of tax increase was successfully levied on tobacco a few decades ago and there has been a steady decline in sales. And recently, a similar soda and junk food tax was levied in Mexico, substantially reducing the consumption, especially among low-income households.

If that’s not enough, science backs it up. Research shows that there’s a direct link between those high prices and a decrease in consumption. So Philadelphia, we’re sorry you can’t get your fix of Diet Pepsi. But maybe it’s time for some tough love. Might we suggest some coconut water?