Consumer Taste For Diet Soft Drinks Reaches Record Levels   Consumers are increasingly enjoying soft drinks whilst watching the calories, as revealed by the latest figures for the UK soft drinks market published recently. Diet and low calorie drinks and drinks without added sugar have reached a record market share of 61%. Twenty years ago, the market share of these drinks was only 28%. The information is contained in the 2007 Soft Drinks Report, published by the British Soft Drinks Association with data from independent market analysts Zenith International. Other key facts in the report include: * Overall, soft drinks consumption grew by 3.6% to reach 14,345 million litres in 2006. This corresponds to 237.1 litres per person, or 2½ glasses per day. * The industry saw record levels of innovation last year, with 231 different new product developments in the marketplace. * The fastest growing sectors of the market were: Sports drinks 15.8% Still and juice drinks 12.5% Energy drinks 9.3% Fruit juice 8.7% Dilutables 8.1% Bottled water 5.8% * At the same time, consumption of carbonated drinks fell by 2.3%. Jill Ardagh, Director General of BSDA said, "The public spotlight is on the soft drinks industry as never before. Our report shows how the industry is responding to consumer demand, offering a wide range of drinks both with and without calories. As consumer taste becomes ever more diverse, so does the soft drinks industry."