And the most popular cola is. . .

A recent consumer survey has ranked Pepsi as the most preferred beverage brand, with arch cola rival Coke trailing in all categories except one.

In the overall beverage segment, Pepsi topped the chart with 23 per cent aggregate preference in terms of brand association, while Coke was ranked second with 20 per cent, the Indicus Consumer Tracker research showed.

Pepsi was ranked first in the brand recall survey of the top 200 individual brands in the country with 5 per cent aggregate preference, while Coke lagged behind at the ninth position with 3 percentage points.

Across vehicle ownership, luxury car owners preferred Pepsi to Coke, but mid-size car owners liked Coke more than Pepsi. Small car, motorcycle and scooter owners in India showed their penchant for Pepsi.

In the eight big cities in India, Pepsi topped the list with reference to brand recall with 5 per cent, while Coke was adjudged at the ninth slot with 3 per cent.

Among students, Pepsi was more popular with 7 per cent brand recall value, while Coke trailed at the 15th position having 2 per cent brand recall value in the list of top 20 brands.

Among young adults (19 to 20 years of age), Pepsi enjoyed the first position with 6 per cent and Coke stood at the 12th slot with  2per cent.

In terms of brand recall value among teenagers, Pepsi was ranked first with 8 per cent.

In the list of top 10 popular brands among females, Pepsi ranked second with 5 per cent, while Coke grabbed the 13th slot with 2 per cent.

Among males, Pepsi topped the chart with 6 per cent and Coke ranked ninth with 3 per cent.

Across the country, Pepsi was ahead of Coke at the first position with 5 per cent, while Coke came ninth with 3 per cent.

"The choice of 'generation next' is the choice of all generations currently. Pepsi comes out as the most top of mind recalled brand of all. It also tops on ad recall: Asia Cup? Toss Ka Boss? It all seems to be working. Pesticides, what's that!" the survey said.

Indicus Consumer Tracker, a monthly series, used a sample of 4,000 responses for the survey.