Carbonated soft drinks enjoy near‑universal usage, with four in five adults drinking these, though only a minority daily. Usage is strongest among younger adults. They drink CSDs more often, thanks…
UK
Carbonated Soft Drinks
simple
UK Carbonated Soft Drinks Market Report 2026
"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."
UK Carbonated Soft Drinks Industry – Trends and Insights
Carbonated soft drinks enjoy near‑universal usage, with four in five adults drinking these, though only a minority daily. Usage is strongest among younger adults. They drink CSDs more often, thanks to their wider range of occasions, from having these as a treat to replacing alcohol.
2025 marked a turning point for CSDs, with volumes returning to growth amid a record-breaking warm summer after consecutive declines since 2022. Value growth accelerated, fuelled by inflation as well as added value variants, benefiting from alcohol moderation and healthier NPD.
Looking ahead, engaging under‑35s remains crucial.Social media now plays a decisive role in how younger consumers discover new CSD brands and flavours, making a compelling online presence critical for brands. The on‑premise channel offers growth potential, with unique listings, customisation and elevated serves enabling brands and venues holding potential to win spend even as incomes face renewed pressure.
However, volumes are forecast to remain subdued over the longer term, with demographic shifts, regulatory disruption and rising competition from adjacent soft drink categories posing ongoing challenges.
This Report Looks at the Following Areas:
Performance of the market, including the impact of inflation on value and volume sales of carbonated soft drinks
Usage and usage frequency of standard and diet carbonated soft drinks
Factors impacting consumer choice of carbonated soft drinks, including the continued relevance of familiarity
On-trade opportunities for carbonated soft drinks around customised serves and listing of brands not found in shops
Opportunities for carbonated soft drinks to explore naturalness
Market Definitions
Products covered in this report:
All mainstream CSDs are included in the market size. Diet carbonates are included. Cocktail mixers (including ginger ale and bitter lemon) are included. Tonic water is defined as a sparkling water by Circana, and so is excluded from market size, share, and segmentation data.
Kombucha and iced tea has been included in the market size data and falls under ‘all other carbonates’ segment.
For the purposes of this Report, Mintel has used the following definitions:
Retail: this includes retail outlets where CSDs are purchased for the purpose of consumption off-premise, comprising supermarkets, convenience stores and petrol forecourts among others.
On-premise: this includes anywhere where CSDs are bought to consume on-site, eg leisure centres, hotels, restaurants, fast food venues, cafes, education establishments, the workplace and in the on-trade (ie pubs, bars, clubs).
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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
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
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
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
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
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