Still Water Outsells Cola in London

Bottled mineral water is outselling cola in London for the first time.

Health-conscious consumers favour water and juices rather than fizzy drinks.

Research by Britvic found pure juice, "sports" drinks and "smoothies" have shown the fastest percentage growth with sales of water up 11 per cent.

Britvic chief executive and vice president of the British Soft Drinks Association, Paul Moody, said: "The face of the soft drinks market is rapidly changing as evolving consumer tastes and preferences ensure that innovation always remains at the heart of industry.

"In fact, research tells us that almost two out of three people have changed the drinks they buy to be more healthy and this has resulted in the well-being soft drinks category emerging as one of the most important."

The soft drink "of the future" might look and taste very different to the options today if the speed and scale of changes since 2001 continue, Mr Moody predicted.

Smoothies showed the fastest percentage growth for shop sales increasing their value by 102% and the volume sold by 131%, to hit sales worth £163 million.

Pure juice sales rose in value by 14% but only 2% in volume, while the value of sales for "functional" drinks like Red Bull and Lucozade rose by 18% and in volume by 17%.

Scotland was found to be the highest consumer of soft drinks per household, with 324 litres consumed annually at a cost of £278.

London was close behind with 313 litres per household and an annual spend of £272.