Adult soft drinks: Bestsellers, NPDs, hot trends

Things are changing and they are changing fast. A couple of decades ago, sipping a non-alcoholic drink at a gathering or on a date meant only two things-either the person is a bore nerd or pregnant. Fast forward to present, opting for a non-alcoholic drink is not only accepted but is also appreciated as being more self-aware and responsible.

Be it the quest for better health, sounder sleep, clearer skin or to raise much-needed funds for that charity, Brits are shunning alcohol at a higher rate than what their parents and grandparents did (if they ever did so).

But here’s the kicker- they're also not settling for sugary sodas, thus giving way to a brand new category of adult soft drinks—the perfect middle ground.

This rising category of adult soft drinks is basically a collection of premium, functional, sophisticated and healthier drinks that are lately making waves in the market. They are as sophisticated as their alcoholic counterparts and still considered fun and healthier.

Think botanical infusions, exotic ingredients, and flavour profiles that are less about sugar highs and more about nuance. From craft sodas to functional beverages packed with health benefits, these drinks offer something exciting to health-conscious consumers.

The category broadly includes premium soft drinks, craft sodas, no-alcohol drinks such as sparkling water infusions and functional beverages that offer additional health benefits.

Today, there is an array of non-alcoholic craft drinks that offer superior quality, premium ingredients and unique flavours and it is imperative that convenience stores stock as much variety as they can. In fact, this little section, if nurtured properly with thought and creativity, can even turn out to be a huge footfall magnet, thus a unique feature of the store.

Stocking these products allows convenience retailers to cater to evolving consumer preferences, especially with the "sober curious" movement gaining traction.

Refreshing Flavours

Fresh and distinct flavors are what make these new-age adult soft drinks distinct from the mainstream sodas and juices.

Ben Parker, GB Retail Commercial Director at Britvic, believes that flavor innovation is key to keeping shoppers engaged in a category full of choice.

“New product development (NPD) is the key to this, enticing shoppers to come into store in search of the latest launches and also encouraging impulse purchases with additional bold new flavours.”

A great example of this is Tango’s limited-edition flavor series, Tango Editions, which launched in 2021. These editions, like Tango Paradise Punch (now worth almost £15 million in RSV), have turned heads with their striking designs and bold tastes.

“The brand’s successful rotational flavour series has seen Tango Paradise Punch become the number one flavoured fruit carbonate new product development of 2023, now worth almost £15m RSV, with the year before seeing Tango Berry Peachy crowned the number one fruit flavoured carbonate new product development of 2022,” he said.

Following its success, Britvic introduced Tango Mango in February this year, meeting growing consumer demand for mango-flavored drinks, which have seen a 26 per cent rise in sales over the past year. This sugar-free option lets consumers enjoy bold flavors without the guilt.

Speaking about new launches, Pepsi disrupted the cola category once again in May this year with its brand new, limited-edition blue cola launch, Pepsi Electric.

Parker told Asian Trader, “Following a successful rebrand earlier this year and longstanding flavour innovation within the market, the new launch challenges what consumers expect from a cola – boasting a zesty, citrus taste with a striking blue liquid, available for 12 months across the convenience, wholesale and grocery channels.”

Pepsi Electric launched exclusively in a 500ml bottle format, offering shoppers more choice when they’re on-the-go. The new product development is also sugar-free, designed to enable retailers to cater to growing preferences for zero sugar soft drink options, without having to compromise on bold flavours and great taste.

Not to forget here is premium drink mixer Fever-Tree that offers refined drinking experience that competes directly with alcohol, complete with superior flavour profiles and healthier alternatives. Tapping into the trend of sophisticated flavours, Fever-Tree blends high-quality, authentic profiles to complement the evolving tastes of consumers.

Botanical ingredients such as herbs, flowers and spices are experiencing a surge in popularity within the adult soft drinks category. And an interesting name to consider tapping this trend is botanical brewery brand Fentimans, that provides consumers with soft drinks that are “just as good” as alcoholic beverages.

The brand is known for scouring the globe for the finest natural, high-quality ingredients, from Bulgarian rose oil to “China’s best” ginger root. Fentimans also said to employs a “one-of-a-kind" botanical brewing process, using a secret base that only a select few people in the world know.

Some of Fentiman’s best-sellers include botanically brewed takes on timeless classics, such as its Cherry Cola, Dandelion & Burdock, Pink Ginger, Rose Lemonade, Victorian Lemonade, Mandarin and Seville Orange Jigger and its Curiosity Cola, an artisanal take on the popular beverage that features sweet cinnamon for a deeper flavour.

Health and wellbeing

Health is another driving factor behind the growing demand for adult soft drinks.

Parker notes that the rise in health-conscious consumers has significantly impacted the types of soft drinks people purchase, especially with the introduction of HFSS (high in fat, salt, and sugar) regulations.

Newly launched Jimmy’s Myprotein Iced Coffee contains protein enriched milk and boasts 5.6g of protein per 100ml, as well as being HFSS-compliant. The launch is helping retailers expand their on-the-go beverage offering, while tapping into the UK protein market which is estimated to reach over £438m in 2024.

Parker told Asian Trader, “At Britvic, we know how important it is to offer retailers and shoppers choice, and as a business, we have a long history of helping people make healthier choices. Our innovation pipeline continues to centre around low and no-sugar products which meet HFSS regulations and offer consumers better-for-you options as part of our strategy.”

“Our leading approach to low and no-sugar reformulations has resulted in 85 per cent of our portfolio being low or no calorie across GB and Ireland, all while maintaining our commitment to never compromising on taste.

“A recent example of this is the launch of sugar free Pepsi MAX Mango and Tango Mango. With the growing popularity of flavoured carbonates, both products meet the latest consumer demand for tasty sugar free flavours.”

Consumers are realising that it’s not just about what you eat, but also what you drink that contributes to a healthy, balanced diet and lifestyle.

Pip Brook, FHIRST Living Soda Co-founder and UK Head of Brand, said, “FHIRST is one of the healthiest functional gut loving sodas on the market right now. Whether it’s adults or children, FHIRST is the guilt-free, healthy go-to soda. We’re here to change the soda landscape, showing that sugar and sweetener laden sodas are a thing of the past.”

With the backlash against traditional sodas that are “full of sugars, sweeteners and a whole lot of nasties”, people are genuinely looking for healthier alternatives and it is crucial that convenience stores have just the right fit for them, she said.

Overall, adult consumers are demanding more from their soft drinks than a standard, traditional soft drink. They want beverages that offer them something specific to their need state (e.g. relaxation, energy, overall health, gut health), giving them the luxury of personalising their drink choices throughout the course of the day. It’s all about choice. They are innovation hunters, wanting products with added extras, Brook said.

She continued, “In a lot of cases, they will be health and wellbeing focused. Importantly, they’re often willing to pay more for the functionality so, for retailers bring greater value through the tills. This has been helped along with the growth in consumers looking for low/no alcoholic drinks too, changing their lifestyles to not consuming or limiting alcohol.

The consumers are becoming increasingly savvy and looking at what’s actually in their drinks - reading the labels, and moving towards more all-natural beverages with no added sugars or sweeteners – like FHIRST.

And of course, consumer interest in gut health has been incredible and continues, added Brook, stating how Google “gut health” searches have increased +243 per cent over the last two years, and the hashtag #gutmicrobiome is clocking over 730k views each week on TikTok.

“This is fuelling the new category of gut-focused products – first came kombucha, then prebiotics and now sodas with both probiotics and prebiotics like FHIRST,” she added.

Launched this summer, FHIRST Living Soda Lemon Lime brings together revitalising lemon and zingy lime, offering a healthier alternative to current sugar-laden lemon lime soft drinks on the market.

Brook told Asian Trader, “Refreshingly sweet, with a gentle fizz that tickles the tongue to deliver the perfect gut lovin’ combination, FHIRST is proof that healthy can taste good. The new Lemon Lime variant joins old school Cherry Vanilla, fiery Ginger Mandarin, and tropical Passion Fruit.

“FHIRST Living Soda offers a healthier alternative to current sodas on the market. We’re on a mission to change the face of the soda category, delivering great tasting, guilt free, healthy sodas that support gut, immune and brain health. FHIRST’s unique all-natural gut loving formulation makes it the only functional soda globally to contain probiotics and prebiotics with zero sugar and absolutely no artificial sweeteners. Each can provide a powerful combination of 2 billion living probiotic cultures, 5g prebiotic plant fibre, and added zinc, and just 6kcals.”

FHIRST has won numerous industry awards since launching in 2023 including most recently, the Zenith Innobev Award for Best Functional Drink. It is now stocked via Ocado and Amazon, as well as in over 600 independents and 150 health stores across the UK and Ireland.

Retailers can stock up on FHIRST via CN Foods, CLF, Cotswold Fayre, DDC, Dundeis, Epicurium, Simply Heavenly, Greencity (Scotland) and Wholefoods Ireland.

Going a step ahead in wellness is “functional”, a word on everyone’s lips in the industry right. Craft soda company Dalston’s is tapping the trend.

Dalston’s latest line has prebiotic sodas, fortified with magnesium and plant fibre while it’s ‘For your gut’ line includes botanicals like baobab and lemon balm, traditionally known for their digestive support properties.

Nestlé-owned Maison Perrier recently introduced a new collection of premium sparkling beverages – marking the brand’s debut in the sophisticated drinks segment. Maison Perrier has launched four distinct lines – Forever, Chic, Magnetic Juice and Energize – developed through deep consumer research, market-leading R&D capabilities and collaboration with top flavour houses.

Gunna Drinks launches UK’s first aluminium bottled sodaswww.asiantrader.biz

UK-based craft lemonade brand Gunna Drinks is another must-stock item in this section. The brand has a range of planet-positive, immune-boosting beverages to cater to the increasing health consciousness among consumers.

Packaged in recyclable and reusable aluminium bottles, each of Gunna’s functional lemonades provides 100 per cent of the recommended daily intake of vitamin C and zinc, supporting immune health while maintaining low sugar content.

GUNNA proudly claims to be the first in the UK to offer immune-boosting soda drinks in aluminium packaging.

Make it wider

Adult soft drink is an exciting new category and holds a huge potential for local shops. A wide interesting range can make them curios to try and thus push more sales. Plus, don’t forget that they are already aware of the buzz and might go on looking for these products else where so why not give them all at their neighborhood convenience stores?

Another new launch to stock is Zooz, an innovative non-alcoholic wellness drink based on mushrooms.

Zooz is a ground-breaking product in the rapidly growing no-and-low category which its creator believes will establish a whole new sub-category, redefining the way adventurous consumers and bar-owners think about adult soft beverages.

Zooz is remarkable not only because of its highly unusual ingredient base, packed with mushroom energy, but also for the distinctively delicious taste and the wellbeing benefits it delivers. Developed and launched by competitive swimming champion and former personal trainer to top business-people and celebrities including Harry Styles Daniel Soos, Zooz is very different from the overly sweet or overly caffeinated soft drinks that have, until now, been the mainstays of the adult beverage non-alcoholic category.

This low-calorie drink comes in at just 26.25 calories per 250ml serving. Zooz will become a natural alternative to booze for those who are health- and calorie-conscious and who enjoy sophisticated flavours. This drink will appeal to the sober, the sober-curious and those who want a truly different mixer.

The taste of Zooz is akin to Italian bitters but with a depth of flavour that is unique. It is amber in colour so looks attractive in the glass; and the taste makes it enjoyable either as a drink in its own right or an accompaniment to savoury foods. The flavour profile delivers a crisp, sharp citrus twist; it is zesty, natural, and invigorating.

Ironically, so many drinks in this category are defined by what they are not, rather than what they are.

Zooz is not only sugar-free, gluten free, plastic-free and has no artificial additives but it also goes beyond. The ingredients are sustainably sourced. Zooz is classed as a mushroom-based food supplement and is for over-18s only because it contains natural caffeine.

Soos said at the time of the launch earlier this year, “Zooz is not just pushing the boundaries in the world of soft drinks: it is trailblazing a whole new sub-category. The idea took shape one day as I was walking through a supermarket. I decided to make it a reality. I quit personal training and devoted everything to this dream, enduring financial hardships, but I never lost sight of my vision.

“Now, the market is primed and I am excited to bring our innovative drink to the world. I believe it will be a new benchmark in the non-alcoholic beverages category. It’s nothing short of a revolution and supports my personal belief that good energy comes not just from what you take in but what you give out to the world.”

Another interesting drink to stock in stores is Skip, the first British made cold-pressed active CBD drinks brand.

Skip’s CBD has up to eight times the beneficial strength of standard CBD isolate and is not subject to Novel Foods. It gives buyers a product range which navigates the tightening regulatory environment around CBD while also offering consumers a healthy choice.

Each 250ml can contains5mg of cold-pressed active CBD (below the most recent FSA guidance of 10mg/day) as well as fruit juices and botanicals and no soya lecithin. The range is available in three sparkling variants- Peach & Ginger, Elderflower & Mint and Lemon & Basil.

The indicative RRP of £1.79-£2.99 and £6 for a 4-pack makes it an affordable, everyday product. Skip’s founders have lengthy experience in the UK CBD and FMCG industry as well as ownership of a highly-respected route-to-market and operations business servicing the requirements of multi-national challenger brands. They are also working on Skip with a team of scientific researchers at the University of Oxford.

Skip co-founder Adam Pritchard pioneered the pomegranate juice industry in the UK with the founding of the Pomegreat brand and was a strategic advisor and shareholder in Love Hemp ahead of its £9m sale to medical cannabis investment firm World High Life.

Pritchard said, “Skip is the future of CBD drinks. It is the only CBD drink in the market which is fully compliant and future proof.Our category defining CBD is pressed and created in the UK and our proprietary process allows it to sit outside any regulations related to Novel Foods imposed by the UK Food Standards Agency (FSA) since March 2020.

“It means that Skip delivers credibility, certainty and efficacy for both trade and consumers, and at a suggested RRP that ensures mass market penetration to underpin the continuing category growth opportunity.”

Solving the dilemma of what to drink what one is not drinking, there are a range of interesting new products out there which retailers should consider stocking.

Seedlip is a great option here to consider. Considered as the world's first distilled non-alcoholic spirit, it combines six individually-distilled barks, spices and citrus peels to create a complex blend best sipped long with tonic or short with brine as a non-alcoholic martini.

For those looking for drinks that are less sweet than most, but with plenty of flavour, Nix & Kix is the new, award-winning brand that uses the spices to create great-tasting drinks.

Kombucha range by its pioneers Jarr is also something to look up for, especially its pure Ecuadorian passion fruit range. Armed with numerous health benefits like naturally occurring probiotics, antioxidants, vitamins and enzymest, this one is a winner for those shoppers who are looking for a drink when they are not boozing.

Inspired by molecular gastronomy, new lauch Double Dutch hits the sweet spot with their balance of flavours. Made with 100 per cent natural ingredients and containing just 66 calories a bottle, the harmonious combo is something that should be recommended to every shopper.

To Retailers ‘Keep Up or Fall Behind’

Times are changing fast and it is imperative that retailers remain toe-to-toe with it. They need to have a look at the soft drink section and make sure it caters beyond to mainstream popular sodas.

Retailers have a responsibility to their shoppers to offer low/no sugar alternatives. Signposting for both functionality and benefits will be key, and we’re starting to see the likes of Tesco championing this at back of store. However, for smaller retailers, the main responsibility comes down to the producers of these drinks to really deliver packaging with clear benefits that are compliant.

Consumers will continue to focus on monitoring their sugar intake, especially as we go into the festive season and into 2025.

Brook from FHIRST feels that the consumers who are health focused, they will look for drinks that don’t contain sugar or artificial sweeteners like FHIRST.

“Moreover, we’re seeing huge growth in people either quitting or moderating their alcohol consumption – with this is mind, healthy, functional soft drinks have never been more in demand and so retailers should be looking at what they have to offer their shoppers. The days of sugar laden, artificial drinks are coming to an end.

“By creating differentiation and offering unique, compelling alternatives in their beverage fixtures, alongside offering choice.

“Catering for your shoppers’ different beverage need states is how you win. Fridges in larger retailers are often dominated by the usual global brands, and so as an independent you can give customers more choice. And by working hand-in-hand with brands you can develop compelling price deals and promotional strategies,” Brook said.

As the new functional drinks category evolves, it’s important to work with brands that can build kudos for being experts in that area, in other words, credible brands will help build consumer confidence.

Brook told Asian Trader, “With FHIRST, we can honestly say that it’s the healthiest functional gut lovin’ soda on the market right now. We’re building a reputation as the go-to brand for clean living soda. And we say what we do on the can: FHIRST is science-backed. It’s not just our ingredients that are backed by science, but our finished product is backed by science, as proven by our in vitro study, which showed that over 90 per cent of FHIRST’s live cultures actually reach the gut – where they are supposed to be.”

Soft drink consumption is often on-the-go, so chilled is important, Brook added, saying FHIRST best sales happen when it is ready to go. Signposting functionally or by need state isa great way to merchandise.

Brook explained that it is younger generations and male buyers who are the biggest consumers of functional drinks, including sports performance, energy and smart drinks, according to analysis by GlobalData.

“Consumers are becoming more savvy about what they put into their bodies, so keeping it natural and providing enhanced functionality is the future. Plus, we are seeing more and more consumers opting not to drink, so soft drink consumption is only going one way – up!,” she said.

Have fun

With a shift in consumer preferences toward healthier lifestyles, premiumisation, and more discerning tastes, it is the need of the hour for convenience store owners to stock a good wide range of new-age drinks.

Consumers who discover unique or premium adult soft drinks at a convenience store are more likely to return for repeat purchases as they are quite particular about what they want. Offering a variety of well-known brands, alongside emerging local favorites, can help build customer loyalty and differentiate the store from competitors.

Stocking adult soft drinks allows convenience retailers to tap into current consumer trends, enhance margins, and attract a wider range of shoppers—all while boosting their store’s reputation as a destination for modern, health-conscious products.Stocking these drinks isn’t just about filling a gap, it’s about standing out and becoming the go-to destination for the 'sober curious' crowd.