UK soft drinks group Cawston Press has expanded its ambient juices portfolio with a range of juice shots.

The Fiery Ginger and Beetroot & Ginger SKUs are "designed for health-conscious juice drinkers and the morning occasion", Cawston said in a statement.

Priced at £4.99 ($6.68) for a 500ml carton, the drinks are being sold in Waitrose from today (13 July), and will later be rolled out online through Ocado and "other retailers".

The beverages contain 20% of "organic pressed Peruvian ginger juice", according to the statement. They are manufactured in the UK.

Managing director at Cawston Press, Steve Kearns, said: "Cawston Press is well placed to meet growing consumer demand for functional juice shots, a category that has developed largely in the chilled aisle. We see a significant opportunity to drive incremental growth in ambient.

"As the UK’s number one not-from-concentrate ambient juice brand, we’re bringing fresh energy and credibility to the category, while making daily juice shots more accessible than many chilled alternatives. Customers have been asking us for some time for even more potent recipes of our popular apple, ginger and beetroot juices."

The business told Just Drinks that the two SKUs will launch in the UK to begin with, "with the ambition to roll out to other markets at the right time".

The UK is Cawston's largest market but its products are also sold in Europe and Canada.

When questioned on the strategic rationale of the launch, the juices firm said the move into shots was "driven by the consumer demand for smaller-sized, more intense versions of our 1L juice range".

Cawston Press produces a range of pressed juices in a 1 litre format, in flavours such as Brilliant Beetroot and Terrific Tomato.

Earlier this year, Cawston entered the low-and-no alcohol sector with its acquisition of local 0.5% beer brand Loah for an undisclosed amount.

Other players in the UK functional juices shots category include brands like The Turmeric Co. and Moju and Plenish. In April, Carlsberg also expanded its functional shots range for Plenish with two new products.

One of of those shot products looks to respond to the “consumer challenge” around fibre intake.

The Plenish Fibre Shots and Ultra Turmeric drinks are available in Sainsbury’s stores in the UK, online and through the brand’s website, local subsidiary Carlsberg Britvic said at the time.