The 2008 UK Soft Drinks Report, published today (28 April) by the British Soft Drinks Association (BSDA), records that the market dipped slightly in 2007, registering a 0.8% fall to 14.21bn litres.
Retail sales value rose, however, to GBP12.92bn, an increase of 0.7% on 2006.
Best performing categories were smoothies, which grew 44% to 75m litres, followed by sports and energy drinks with 12% growth to reach 455m litres. Still and juice drinks recorded a 3% rise to reach 1.28bn litres and a retail sales value of GBP1.67bn.
Sales of 100% fruit juice rose 1.8%, with not-from-concentrate variants now accounting for 22% of the segment. Orange juice saw its share decrease 54%, an indication of the impact that new fruits and flavour blends have made.
The report noted that the UK's wettest summer on record affected bottled water sales, which declined 4%, with a further 16.1% drop in flavoured waters.
Although carbonates, the largest soft drink sector, had a flat year with a fall of 1.6%, diet variants rose 1% to claim a 36% share of the category.
The report says 125 new products were launched in the UK last year, driven by health and wellness issues.
Sectors: Soft drinks, Water
Companies: British Soft Drinks Association
