Can you tell us a little of the history of your brand?
Radnor Hills is one of the UK’s leading independently owned and run soft drinks manufacturers. The company produces over 400 million still, sparkling and flavoured water drinks each year, all made using the exceptionally pure Welsh spring water sourced from our boreholes just minutes from our production site in Knighton, Powys, in the heart of rural Wales.
We’ve been producing soft drinks for over 35 years, originally focusing on still and sparkling spring water sourced directly from our farm. Over the years, we’ve expanded into flavoured water, award-winning sparkling presses, school-compliant drinks and a variety of own-label solutions.
Our core values have remained the same: sustainability, quality and great taste. Being independent has allowed us to stay agile and true to our roots while continuing to innovate.
How much is the soft drinks category worth?
The UK soft drinks market was valued at approximately £23.13 billion in 2025, with the sector experiencing 3.8% value growth in retail. The UK carbonated market size was valued at £10.2bn in 2024 and 3 in 10 customers drink a carbonated soft drink daily. We are seeing an increasing consumer demand for healthier, low- and no-sugar options, as well as convenience and on-the-go consumption.
How is Radnor Hills performing as a brand?
Radnor Hills has seen strong and consistent growth across multiple channels, across retail, wholesale, education and foodservice.
We have a wide network of distributors and wholesalers throughout the UK and a true basket of products for our customers, all from one collection point.
As the market leaders in school drinks, we supply the largest distributers in the UK and some of the largest grocers including Morrisons, Tesco, ASDA, Aldi and Sainsburys.
Heartsease Farm, our range of premium presses, takes its name from our family farm which surrounds our site, and is seeing record growth.
Over 40 million Radnor Fizz and Radnor Fruits products are sold in schools nationwide, providing hydration to the education sector.
Our hugely popular still and sparkling Radnor Hills Spring Water, our very first product when we launched 35 years ago, is now available in infinitely recyclable cans.
We kicked off 2026 with our biggest ever launch month – unveiling three new products: Radnor Spring, our new low-calorie sparkling water with added B vitamins; Radnor Hydrate, a clean and simple 60% natural fruit juice and 40% natural spring water drink; and Radnor Fruits Disney, which is made with 50% fruit juice and 50% spring water and comes with pull-tab technology.
We’re proud that the whole Radnor family of brands grew more than 3x faster than the market in £ value and some 6x faster in terms of volume purchased. (Source Nielsen IQ 2025 vs 2024 £ and L)
What is driving this performance?
It has been a really exciting time here at Radnor Hills – we’ve never been a business which stands still. We love to innovate and we always look forward.
Over the past 12 months we have identified a clear shift in consumer demand toward healthier, more functional and sustainably produced drinks, particularly in categories where taste, wellbeing and environmental values combine.
Our research showed that consumers want healthy hydration, great taste and, because we’re still very much in a cost-of-living crisis, excellent value for money. It felt natural for us to launch a healthy low-calorie carbonate combined with B-vitamins to offer our consumers a great tasting product with added function under the brand ‘Radnor Spring.’ With a price marked pack version at £0.85p per bottle this product provides outstanding margins for our stockists and great value for money for our consumers.
Secondly, our strong relationships with wholesalers and our ability to provide tailored solutions have helped drive distribution and visibility. Finally, our focus on sustainability, including our use of recycled materials and our commitment to reducing carbon impact, resonates with both retailers and consumers.
We’re committed to carrying out our business as sustainably as possible and have put in place a number of measures to directly support decarbonisation within the soft drinks and wholesale supply chain, from providing lower-carbon product options, improving logistics efficiency and promoting packaging sustainability.
By integrating renewable energy, packaging circularity and carbon management into our growth strategy, we support both our commercial partners and the wider wholesale sector in achieving net-zero goals. We’re proud of the progress we’ve made and the awards we’ve won.
We were named Sustainable Supplier of the Year in the annual Gold Medal Awards run by the Federation of Wholesale Distributors. Extra special was being told by the judges that we’re “leading the way in sustainability far beyond our size and scale” and that it was “a landslide win”.
What are your predictions for the category in 2026?
We expect the soft drinks category to continue growing, with increased focus on sustainability, packaging innovation and functional benefits. Consumers are becoming more conscious about what they drink and how it’s packaged, so brands that can combine health, taste and environmental responsibility will lead the way. Flavoured and enhanced waters will also continue to gain share.
We have committed to becoming a net zero business by 2045 and have submitted our plans to the Science Based Target initiative, one of the few SMEs in the food and drink sector to do so. These plans underpin investment decisions across operations, logistics and product development, ensuring environmental responsibility aligns with commercial resilience.
Do you have any NPD to talk about?
Innovation is a key part of our strategy. We’re continually developing our range, filling in any gaps in our portfolio, looking at new products that suit different age demographics and continuing to innovate through healthy hydration. For example, with the launch of our new drink, Radnor Spring, we’re also exploring some exciting new launches for 2027 so watch this space. Our Disney collaboration is moving on from the ‘Stitch’ brand and into a new very exciting new set of characters just in time for the film release in June.
What marketing activity do you have planned to support your brand?
We invest in a combination of trade and consumer marketing, including in-store activations, digital campaigns, and partnerships with wholesalers. Sampling remains a key tool for us, as once consumers try our products they are usually fans for life. We’re also increasing our focus on sustainability messaging to highlight what sets us apart. A few weeks ago, we hosted our second ever product launch on TikTok Live and within two hours had become the number 1 FMCG brand on TikTok Shop. For a team that is still learning TikTok live as we go, this was a huge moment. It’s easy to underestimate the power of TikTok as a sales and awareness channel, but the scale, engagement and immediacy of live shopping is exciting.
What can Radnor Hills offer wholesalers?
We pride ourselves on being a supportive and flexible partner. We pride ourselves on a reliable supply and a broad basket of products that appeal to multiple customer segments – from education to convenience retail, meaning our customers can fill one lorry from one site and solve multiple customer drinking occasions. We also work closely with wholesalers on promotions, price-marked packs, category insights and tailored support to help drive sales.
Our aim is for Radnor Hills to be seen as a trusted staple in the beverage industry, recognised not just for product quality, but also for our unwavering commitment to environmental and social responsibility.
We also like to give back to the industry and to our customers. Our CEO William Watkins is President of the British Soft Drinks Association (BSDA) while FMCG specialist Jonathan Kemp, one of our non-executive directors, is on the board of the UK Deposit Management Organisation Ltd (UK DMO).
We’re also taking an active lead in advising customers around the complicated topics of Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) and the Deposit Return Scheme (DRS) – translating the regulations into actual insight.
How can wholesalers maximise soft drinks sales?
Visibility and availability are key. Ensuring a strong core range is always in stock is essential, but there’s also a real opportunity to trade customers up into flavoured and premium options. Clear in-depot merchandising, strong promotions and educating retailers on the benefits of different formats can all help drive growth. Ultimately, it’s about offering choice while keeping the category simple to shop.
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