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Coke may lose sweet tooth
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November 3, 1998: 8:19 a.m. ET
Company could enter bottled water market next year, taking on PepsiCo
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NEW YORK (CNNfn) - Coca-Cola Co., the world's leading purveyor of sweet things to drink, soon may tap into the $4 billion bottled water market.
The Wall Street Journal reports that the soft-drink giant expects to roll out a brand of purified mineral water in selected markets early next year.
The product would become available nationwide in about May, sources told the Journal.
The brand name is still up for debate, but so far company executives appear to be focusing on "Dasani."
Coca-Cola , which for years has considered entering the fast-growing market, will sell the water to bottlers, according to the report.
The company already sells a bottled water, called BonAqua, overseas and sold its small water business, Belmont Springs, in 1989.
Coke, however, may be looking to compete with rival PepsiCo Inc. (PEP), which got a running start in the business in 1994 with its introduction of Aquafina, now the top-selling water brand at convenience stores and gas stations, the report said.
Shares of Coke (KO) rose 3-7/16, more than 5 percent, to 71 on the New York Stock Exchange Monday. 
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Coca-Cola
PepsiCo
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