Energy drinks powering soft drinks performance in convenience sector

DATE: 13 March, 2026 // BACK TO ARCHIVE »

Soft drinks continue to be the shining light in the convenience sector, as the latest figures from data and insight experts, Talysis Ltd, indicate a strong start to 2026.

Whilst the majority of categories are struggling, with convenience as a whole down 1.7% yoy in 2025 (source: “Convenience 2025: A review of the year in UK Convenience” by Talysis), Soft drinks, Confectionery and Alcohol are the only major categories delivering meaningful value growth. Soft drinks was the clear winner amongst these categories in 2025, experiencing growth across value, volume, and category share.

Soft Drinks accounted for 17.5% of total convenience value sales in 2025, up +1.5%, reinforcing the category’s critical role in driving footfall, impulse purchase and overall store performance. Impulse represented 78.6% of all Soft Drinks sales, up +0.9 YoY, while Take Home continued to decline.

This performance has continued into 2026, with Talysis data for the first two months of the year, up to 1 March 2026, showing soft drinks holding a 16.4% category share of convenience sales (value) vs 15.4% for the previous year. Also in the year to date, Impulse increased again, +5.9% (value) and +2.1% (volume), whilst Take Home recovered to an extent, showing a +7.1% value increase and +1.2% volume rise.

A huge amount of the growth in Soft Drinks can be attributed to NPD and the success of the Sports/Energy sub-category.

Sport & Energy drinks accounted for 42.4% of Soft Drinks value in 2025, ahead of Carbonates at 29.5%, which was down YOY. Within Sport & Energy drinks, the Monster brand accounted for half of the Top 20 lines and showed the fastest growth (+£92m). Current category leaders Red Bull accounted for six of the top 20, including the Top 3 best-selling SKUs.

Moving into 2026 and Sport/Energy drinks continue to turbo-charge an already thriving soft drinks category. Sport/Energy drinks share of soft drinks in the year to date (up to 1 March 2026) now stands at 44.4% vs 42.6% in the same period in 2025, whilst Carbonates have fallen to 29%. This represents £254 million in sales of Sport/Energy drinks YTD vs £230 million LY, as this sub-category continues to outpace the wider soft drinks category.

Continuous product innovation is one of the major factors driving growth in Sport & Energy drinks. Limited editions and new flavour launches keep this sub-category dynamic and exciting. Monster continued to lead Soft Drinks NPD performance in 2025, accounting for 3 of the top 6 new product launches in this category. Based on rate of sale and distribution across the UK convenience channel, the five standout launches are Monster Lando Norris, Monster Rio Punch, Monster Ruby Red, Lucozade Sport Jude Ice Kick, and Dr Pepper Zero Sugar Cherry Crush.

Coca-Cola retained the largest market share in the carbonated soft drinks sector in 2025 based on value percentage (29.5%), but this was down 0.4%. It appears that consumers are increasingly seeking healthier options such as Dr Pepper Zero, which was the fastest growing brand within the carbonated sector (+1.2%). This shift toward health-conscious choices was further reflected in the growth of the Water (+0.7%) and Health & Lifestyle (+0.3%) subcategories. Outside the typical Soft Drinks categories, there was also good growth in Huel & Starbucks, as customers seek convenient products that support a more ‘on-the-go’ lifestyle.

Ed Roberts, MD of Talysis Ltd, comments:
“Impulse has established itself as the key driver of performance in convenience. Categories that meet on-the-go needs, have clear functional advantages or justify investment are gaining importance, while some take-home purchases are losing relevance with the convenience shopper.

“This is especially noticeable in soft drinks, where carbonates have been overtaken by energy and sports drinks, driven by innovation and a strong development of new products. Convenience retailers are ideally placed to take full advantage of the opportunities within this sub-category, and should maximise sales via chilled availability and impulse-led execution.”

“Convenience 2025: A review of the year in UK Convenience” is based on EPoS data from 1000s of independent & symbol group convenience stores, throughout the UK. It provides full barcode and transactional insight into the UK convenience channel and indicates that, while the convenience channel is in decline, performance is becoming increasingly polarised, with growth focused on specific missions and categories rather than being evenly distributed across the store.