The British Soft Drinks Association (BSDA) has named Andy Bagnall as its new director general.
Bagnall took up the BSDA post on 12 January and is succeeding Gavin Partington, who is retiring after more than a decade in the role.
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Partington first became director general of the association in October 2012.
In a statement, William Watkins, president of BSDA and the founder and owner of beverage company Radnor Hills, said: “We are thrilled to have Andy on board. He brings considerable strategic and policy experience to bolster the BSDA team.
“I am confident that Andy’s leadership will play a significant role in driving the BSDA’s work and strengthening the support it provides to members.”
Bagnall, a former political adviser, has held senior positions at the Confederation of British Industry, KPMG and trade bodies in the rail industry.
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By GlobalDataFrom May 2022 to April 2025, he worked as chief executive of Rail Partners, a trade body spun out of the Rail Delivery Group. Between 2018 and 2022 he held senior roles at the Rail Delivery Group, including director general.
Earlier, he was director of external affairs at KPMG from January 2017 to September 2018 and spent almost five years at the Confederation of British Industry from 2011.
The BSDA is the trade association for UK soft drinks producers, covering carbonated, still and dilutable drinks, fruit juices and bottled water.
Its membership includes most major soft drinks manufacturers operating in the UK, alongside franchisors, importers and industry suppliers, with companies such as Coca-Cola, Suntory and Carlsberg Britvic among its members.
According to the association, its main role is to “represent the interests of the British soft drinks industry both at UK and European level, ensuring that the industry’s perspective is always considered, and the impact of regulations is fully understood”.
Bagnall said he is joining the association at an “important time” for the UK soft drinks industry, which does more than £22bn ($29.6bn) in sales annually and employs over 17,000 people.
“Chief among the priorities for the sector is helping to deliver a deposit return scheme that is fit for purpose and up and running by October 2027, a major step towards a more circular economy,” he added.
The deposit return scheme (DRS) will see consumers pay a small fee when purchasing bottles or cans.
The money is refunded when containers are returned to a designated collection point.
The scheme will apply to PET plastic, steel and aluminium drinks containers throughout the UK. Ideas for the DRS first came about in 2018.
Glass bottles were removed from pending plans for the scheme in England and Northern Ireland in 2022, while Wales and Scotland decided to keep it.
