UK Fruit Juice, Juice Drinks and Smoothies Market Report 2026

Enabling users to enjoy fruits they would not normally eat, is a unique advantage that fruit juice, juice drinks and smoothies hold over other soft drinks. 68% of fruit juice, juice drink and smoothie users see the drinks in this light, representing a powerful sentiment for the drinks to leverage.

The market’s value growth in 2025 and 2026 conceals diverging fortunes across the segments. Hot weather in 2025 and 2026 has boosted demand, particularly for juice drinks, where thirst quenching is a leading usage occasion. Meanwhile, continued pressure on household finances has encouraged some consumers to trade down from fruit juice and smoothies into lower-cost juice drinks. Sugar scrutiny and growing interest in blood sugar management create fresh challenges for the category’s health credentials.

Treating occasions offer one of the clearest opportunities for future growth. One in five smoothie drinkers and 16% of juice drink users already reach for these drinks instead of a sweet snack. Indulgent flavours, engaging textures and fruit discovery offer routes for brands to win in this context. However, revisions to the Nutrient Profiling Model increase pressure on brands to reinforce positive nutrition credentials through ingredients such as fibre, protein and vegetables.

This Report Looks at the Following Areas:

• Performance of the market, including the impact of inflation and weather on value and volume sales of fruit juice, juice drinks and smoothies
• Usage of fruit juice, juice drinks, smoothies and coconut water, and key demographics
• Opportunities for these drinks to unlock snack and treat occasions
• Consumer attitudes towards sugar in these drinks, and the case for adding fibre in light of new NPM
• Key product launch trends including veg-forward, spice flavour and new better-for-you aspects

Market Definitions

This Report examines the market for fruit juice, juice drinks and smoothies in the UK through both on- and off-trade outlets.

Fruit juice and juice drinks can be described as:

• Fruit juice: these must legally be made of 100% pure fruit juice. This may or may not include pulp and is often pasteurised to make it last longer.
• Juice drinks: these are drinks that contain less than 100% fruit juice and have added ingredients, mainly water, but these can also include sweeteners, flavourings, colourings and/or vitamins. A juice drink must contain a minimum of 2% comminuted fruit, although most have a greater proportion. This sector includes ready-to-drink (RTD) versions of concentrated squashes, eg Ribena.

There are also some juices that contain a combination of fruit juices and vegetable juices and these are included in Mintel’s definition of fruit juices. Coconut water brands like Vita Coco are included in the juice drinks market size.