Britvic struggles as UK shuns sugary drinks

Consumers shunning sugary soft drinks for healthier options has hit sales at Britvic, the firm said.

The maker of Robinson’s squash warned before Christmas that consumers were increasingly health conscious as debate rages over whether there should be a sugar tax.

Today the company repeated that the prevailing conditions remained challenging. Total sales increased by 4.8% in the 12 weeks to Christmas, but that was because of the contribution from the Brazilian drinks business Britvic bought last year. Stripping out Brazil, sales fell by 4.7%.

In the UK — Britvic’s largest market — sales fell by 1.2% and in France they were off 5.5%, largely because of lower sales of the private-label drinks Britvic makes for another company.