Selling massive volumes of colored, sweetened, fizzed-up tapwater at a fat markup isn’t what it used to be. US soda sales declined for the 10th straight year in 2014. For a while, beverage giants Coca-Cola and PepsiCo could turn to diet soda for relief. But now, the artificially sweetened stuff is losing popularity even faster than regular soda—diet beverage sales are down nearly 20 percent since their 2009 peak and are expected to plunge an additional 5 percent this year.

Enter the new savior: “craft soda.” Just as the globe’s two dominant beer conglomerates are seeing their own US sales decline while dozens of upstart brewers stage a fast-growing craft-beer renaissance, Big Soda has watched small players like Jones Soda and Reed’s grow rapidly, defying the long-term soda slump.

And just like Big Beer, the soda giants are taking the approach of, “If you can’t beat ’em, buy’ em or imitate ’em.” The incentive is clear. Not only are craft sodas growing in popularity while the overall category shrinks, but the price they fetch in the market is much sweeter. As 12-pack of 12-oz Pepsis sells for as little as $5; Reed’s gets that much for a four-pack of its ginger ale.

PepsiCo recently announced plans for a line of “craft” sodas called Stubborn, in flavors including black cherry with tarragon, orange hibiscus, pineapple cream, and agave vanilla cream, the Associated Press reports. Sweetened with cane sugar instead of high-fructose corn syrup, they’ll initially be served at soda fountains, through a special machine that delivers what the company has called a “tap-like pouring ritual.” (Apparently, convenience-store clerks overseeing these contraptions will have to supply their own hipster mustaches.)

The imminent Stubborn launch (the date hasn’t been announced) isn’t Pepsi’s first dip of the toe into the burgeoning alt-soda market. Earlier this year, it launched Mountain Dewshine, a clear, sugar-sweetened version of the creepy-green, corn syrup- and caffeine-laden beverage. Employing a clumsy backwoods marketing scheme likening the soft drink to illicit moonshine, PepsiCo underlines the “craft” nature of Dewshine by making it available only in glass bottles. Last year, the company rolled out Caleb’s Kola, a “blend of sustainable Fair Trade cane sugar, kola nuts from Africa, a special blend of spices from around the world, and a hint of citrus.” (“‘Caleb’ is Caleb Bradham, who in the 1890s developed the recipe for Pepsi,” Bloomberg reports.)

Rival Coca-Cola has is also testing the crafty waters. In June, the company snapped up the Hansen’s and Blue Sky “natural soda” brands—apparently, the first move made by its new Craft Beverages unit, which Coca-Cola formed back in March, the Wall Street Journal reports. The company has yet to launch a homegrown craft line, but given that it saw fit to devote an entire unit to the concept, it’s a fair bet that we’ll be hearing about a craft Coke project soon.

The question is, will donning the “artisanal” halo be enough to revive Big Soda’s flagging fortunes?