2026
9
UK Carbonated Soft Drinks Market Report 2026
2026-04-23T14:02:21+00:00
REPF8DE6B2C_85CD_41A5_9E6B_2C85CD21A55E
2195
192830
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Report
en_GB
A comprehensive view of the UK carbonated soft drinks market, covering market sizing and forecasts, consumer behaviour, social-led discovery, on-premise opportunities, and the role of health and natural positioning.
UK
Carbonated Soft Drinks
simple

UK Carbonated Soft Drinks Market Report 2026

A comprehensive view of the UK carbonated soft drinks market, covering market sizing and forecasts, consumer behaviour, social-led discovery, on-premise opportunities, and the role of health and natural positioning.

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  1. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

    • What you need to know
    • Outlook for carbonated soft drinks
    • Opportunities
    • Make full use of social media, including live content formats, to engage younger consumers
    • Customisation and unique listings can build on-premise buzz
    • Spotlight natural credentials where possible
    • Discover the top five trend territories for success in UK non-alcoholic beverages using Black Swan’s social prediction technology
  2. THE MARKET

    • Snapshot – market size and forecast
    • Weak consumer confidence holds mixed potential for CSDs
    • Graph 1: financial wellbeing and confidence indices, 2019-26
    • Healthy eating efforts bring opportunities and threats to CSDs
    • New proposals could bring more products in scope of HFSS and SDIL
    • DRS set to launch in October 2027
    • Market size and forecast of carbonated soft drinks
    • Graph 2: market value forecast for carbonated soft drinks, 2019-30
    • Market size and forecast
    • Retail and on-premise sales rebound in 2025
    • Graph 3: value sales of CSDs, by on- and off-trade, 2019-25
    • Cola and other carbonates record volume growth in 2025
    • Graph 4: retail value sales of CSDs, by segment, 2023-25
    • Most brands see retail volume growth, own-label struggles to make gains in 2024/25
    • Graph 5: leading brands’ value sales in the CSDs retail market, 2023/24-2025/26
    • Graph 6: leading brands’ volume sales in the CSDs retail market, 2023/24-2025/26
    • Dr Pepper and 7UP outperform the category amid continued own-label decline
  3. THE CONSUMER

    • Four in five drink carbonated soft drinks
    • CSDs enjoy high daily usage among the young
    • Graph 7: usage of CSDs by age, presence of children in the household and financial health, 2026
    • Growing need to engage over-55s
    • Winning favour with Gen Z
    • Discovery of CSDs is strongly shaped by social media
    • Social media presence crucial for Gen Z discovery of brands and flavours
    • Live content holds untapped potential
    • Show the people behind the brand
    • Tap the appeal of small brands and novelty
    • Leverage technology and tie-ups to dial up relevance
    • Build the buzz on-premise
    • Explore customisation and unique serves to drive on-premise sales of CSDs
    • Unique CSDs hold potential amid cost pressures and alcohol moderation
    • Explore custom serves
    • Dial up presentation
    • Spotlight natural credentials where possible
    • Naturalness resonates strongly among CSD drinkers
    • Strong interest in naturalness from CSDs brands
    • Graph 8: top attributes when choosing a CSD, 2025
    • Spotlight real fruit juice content where applicable
    • Opportunities in carbonated juice drinks
  4. PRODUCT, INNOVATION AND MARKETING

    • Leading cola brands continue to add flavour twists
    • Sour flavours gather pace in NPD
    • Cans gain further share of launches
    • Graph 9: share of CSD launches, by packaging type, 2021-25
    • Adult drinks attract NPD
    • Gut-friendly CSDs grow visibility
    • Premium brands revamp and extend
    • Marketing themes span sport, entertainment and taste
    • IRN-BRU champions authenticity, reviving its longstanding Made in Scotland from Girders campaign
  5. APPENDIX

    • Market definition
    • The market
    • Forecast methodology
    • Forecast methodology – fan chart
    • Market size and forecast for carbonated soft drinks
    • Graph 10: market size and forecast for volume sales of carbonated soft drinks, 2019-30
    • Market size and forecast of carbonated soft drinks (value)
    • Market size and forecast of carbonated soft drinks (volume)
    • Market forecast and prediction intervals – value
    • Market forecast and prediction intervals – volume
    • Retail value and volume sales of CSDs, by type
    • Sales of CSDs, by channel
    • CSDs market share – value sales – brands
    • CSDs market share – volume sales – brands
    • CSDs market share – value sales – manufacturer
    • CSDs market share – volume sales – manufacturer
    • Trends in the population age structure
    • The consumer
    • Consumer research questions
    • Consumer research methodology
    • UK generation groups
    • Abbreviations
Download Report Summary

"2025 marked a return to volume growth for CSDs amid hot summer. Engaging the young through emerging channels is crucial. The on premise holds scope for trading up."

Sam Fryers, Research Analyst

Sam Fryers, Research Analyst

Report Coverage (at a glance) 

  • UK carbonated soft drinks (CSDs) market sizing and forecasting, with historical context and forward-looking outlook. 
  • Retail and on-premise dynamics, using Mintel’s channel definitions for where CSDs are bought for off-premise vs on-site consumption.  
  • Market definition clarifying what’s included/excluded (eg diet variants and cocktail mixers included; tonic water excluded; iced tea and kombucha included within CSDs).  
  • Consumer usage, attitudes and behaviours drawn from Mintel-commissioned research among UK adults.  
  • Competitive and segment context (eg cola vs other carbonates), plus brand performance tracking.

Key Insights Featured in this Report 

  • Analysis of what supported the category’s return to volume growth in 2025 and the implications for the period ahead.  
  • Exploration of younger adults’ central importance to CSD consumption, and what this means for brand engagement strategies.  
  • Assessment of how social media shapes discovery of CSD brands/flavours, and what “social-first” marketing can look like.  
  • Evaluation of on-premise opportunities, including the role of unique listings, customisation and elevated serves in driving relevance and trade-up. 
  • Consideration of “natural” positioning and clean-label cues as an area to support premiumisation and innovation.  

How this Report Supports Your Strategy

  • Benchmark the UK CSD market’s size and outlook to support planning and budgeting.  
  • Build targeting and messaging strategies using consumer research on CSD usage and attitudes.  
  • Shape a content and creator strategy aligned to how consumers discover new CSD options online.  
  • Identify routes to grow out-of-home sales through differentiated on-premise propositions (eg custom serves and exclusive variants).  
  • Pressure-test innovation and positioning against competition from adjacent soft drink categories.

Who is this Report For

  • Brand, marketing and social teams building discovery and engagement strategies (including creator and live formats).  
  • Category, commercial and sales teams planning retail performance and brand benchmarking.  
  • On-trade / route-to-market teams developing differentiated on-premise programmes.  
  • Insights and strategy teams needing robust consumer research plus market sizing/forecasting for decision-making.  
  • Innovation and product teams exploring permissible whitespace around “healthier” and “natural” propositions.  
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