About Us

Carbonated Soft Drinks

Unlike fruit juices and bottled waters, there is no formal legal definition or compositional standard of a carbonated drink but they can be defined as "a manufactured drink, optionally sweetened, acidulated, which may contain fruit, fruit juice and other salts; the flavour may derive from vegetable extracts or flavourings". This includes sparkling juices, colas, mixers, tonic and bitter drinks, shandy, and flavoured waters to name but a few.

Carbonated drinks have been in existence since the late eighteenth century, when Dr Joseph Priestley discovered a means of artificially carbonating water. Once this initial discovery was made, it was not long before further scientific development enabled artificially carbonated water and other soft drinks to be produced and packed in commercial quantities.

The carbonated drinks sector remains the largest category within soft drinks, with a 42% market share. Colas are the most popular flavours for carbonated drinks, with fruit flavours such as lemon and orange following. However, the biggest change in the carbonated sector has been in the growth of low and zero sugar variants, as manufacturers continue to meet the demands of health conscious consumers.