What you need to know
Estimated at £4.6 billion in 2019, total sales of fruit juice, juice drinks and smoothies fell by 1.4% over 2014-19, while volumes declined by 10.5%. Fruit juice and juice drinks have come under pressure from the scrutiny of sugar in people’s diets and of single-use packaging waste. Meanwhile, the smoothie segment bucked this downward trend, posting strong value and volume growth over the period.
While reformulation has helped to bring down the sugar content in juice drinks, the use of sweeteners divides opinion. The same is true of the intrinsic sugar in fruit juice, however, encouraging volume growth will nonetheless pose a real challenge as health advice to limit daily intake to 150ml continues to be promoted.
The current focus on the importance of fibre in diets and the alcohol moderation trend offer opportunities for the market, though product innovation and marketing efforts will be needed to convince shoppers of their credentials.
Products covered in this Report
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. A typical example is Tropicana Pure Fruit Juice.
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 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, provided they consist of 50% or more fruit juice. Coconut water brands like Vita Coco are included in the fruit juice market size.
For the purposes of this Report, Mintel has defined a smoothie as a drink that is made with crushed fruit, but which may also include a small amount of fruit juice, or purée, yogurt, milk or soymilk, and is smooth in texture. The Report will also make reference to smoothie/juice bars, however, the focus is on the prepacked fruit juice, juice drinks and smoothies markets and sales of unpacked drinks are not included in the market size.
