The fizz is going out of Coca Cola. Apple and Google have both overtaken the soft drinks maker in a ranking of the world’s most valuable brands, pushing Coca Cola down to third spot in the annual brands list published on Monday by consultancy firm Interbrand.

It was the first time that Coca Cola did not claim the top spot in the 14 years the list has been compiled.

The study estimated the value of Apple’s brand as $98.3 billion, some $5 billion more than Google’s. Coca Cola’s brand was worth $79.2 billion, just ahead of IBM’s, while Microsoft took fifth spot with a brand value of $59.5 billion.

“Every so often, a company changes our lives, not just with its products, but with its ethos. This is why, following Coca Cola’s 13-year run at the top of Best Global Brands, Interbrand has a new No 1 — Apple,” Interbrand chief executive Jez Frampton said in a press release.

“Tim Cook has assembled a solid leadership team and has kept Steve Jobs’ vision intact — a vision that has allowed Apple to deliver on its promise of innovation time and time again.” Other technology brands that performed well were Samsung, in eighth spot, and Intel in ninth, while Facebook saw its brand value jump 43 per cent to claim the 52nd spot on the list. General Electric and McDonalds claimed seventh and eighth spot respectively, while Toyota, Mercedes and BMW were in the tenth through 12th spots.

Interbrand said it calculates the rankings by examining the financial performance of the branded products, the role the brand plays in influencing consumer choice and the strength the brand has to command a premium price.

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