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Soda is going the way of the buggy whip; the health craze is killing it.

Hardly. The new drinks that are taking soda's soft beverage marketshare are not particularly healthy, for the most part.

Gatorade and other "sport drinks" have somewhat less sugar,and no carbonation, but are basically relabeled Kool-Aid. The clear sports waters are little different from artificially sweetened non-carbonated soda that happens to be clear. Some throw a vitamin pill into the mix, which makes it healthy in the same way that King Vitamin cereal is a healthy part of a child's breakfast. (King Vitamin being rather similar to Cap'n Crunch)

The popular pre-sweetened iced teas sometimes have MORE sugar than sodas.

The partying-energy drinks (Red Bull) are certainly as bad as soda, and worse if taken in quantity. That's not counting the ones that are mixed with alcohol.

The Starbucks iced coffee are sweeter than the sodas, and should not be mistaken for a health drink.

The chocolate and strawberry milks that are sold use very low grade milk and the strawberry one has much more junk than soda.

The only truly healthy alternatives that come to mind are coconut water (probably a fad), Zevia (which actually is a soda, but is sweetened with Stevia, which is widely thought to be better than aspartame, sucralose or saccharin), and straight bottled water (which has been thriving for some time). Straight fruit juices have actually declined in sales just as soda has. Fruit and water based spritzers, which are also sodas, remain a small niche market.

Soda will lose market share, mainly because the cost of entry and distribution has declined, and people are always looking for a new taste; but mainly because of the sheer number of alternatives. It's sort of like network television in the era of cable and satellite. It really isn't about health, except to those people who a generation ago were drinking Clearly Canadian and Nantucket Nectars, telling themselves it was healthy.

While I agree with your analyses of soda’s competition, you’re ignoring the most basic problem for soda: the PUBLIC PERCEPTION that the alternatives are healthier. It is in the marketing...

Some of my favorite “sodas” remain: club soda, seltzer water, and tonic water.