UK functional drinks hit £100m as category growth accelerates

The UK’s functional drinks market has reached a new milestone, with one of its fastest-rising segments—functional juice shots, small but powerful drinks made from ingredients like ginger and turmeric—now worth £100 million in value sales, according to new NielsenIQ (NIQ) data. The growth reflects a wider shift towards everyday, food-first approaches to health, as consumers increasingly prioritise convenient, naturally functional offerings that fit easily into their daily health and wellbeing routines.

Despite ongoing pressure on household spending, health-focused categories have remained resilient. Consumers are prioritising everyday health through small, convenient choices, including increased adoption of products with targeted benefits, with a growing focus on supporting immunity, energy, digestion and general wellbeing from whole food sources. Notably, the number of consumers actively seeking functional benefits when choosing a drink has nearly doubled from 13% to 24% since 2024¹.

Crucially, demand is not being driven by functional benefits alone. Products that combine perceived benefits with taste and convenience are now providing an alternative to traditional vitamins, minerals and supplements (VMS) and helping to drive repeat purchase, with functional juice shots emerging as a standout format.

Underlying these changes is heightened awareness of sugar content and ultra-processed foods, with data showing that 70% of consumers are actively avoiding the latter², prompting a growing preference for naturally nutrient-rich food and drink choices.

Rapid growth fuels a £100m category

The functional juice shot category, which was largely non-existent a decade ago, has expanded rapidly, delivering a 47% compound annual growth rate (CAGR) over the past three years³.

In the last year alone, 130 million shots were purchased⁴, with household penetration rising 48% year-on-year to 6.8%⁵, highlighting rapid adoption among UK consumers. Category-leading repeat purchase rates (25% higher than the traditional chilled juice category⁹) indicate that shoppers are consuming shots differently, integrating them into their daily routines.

Manufacturers and brands have responded with increased innovation and expanded distribution, as retailers grow and reallocate shelf space and listings to capitalise on the trend.

This momentum is also intensifying competition across adjacent sectors, challenging both legacy juice and smoothie brands, as well as traditional VMS providers.

Functional juice shots are now driving £3 in every £5 of chilled juice growth⁶, despite sitting alongside long-established players, highlighting both their accelerating trajectory and growing influence on overall category performance.

The rise of functional juice shots sits within a broader boom in naturally functional food and drink, with categories such as coconut water, kefir and kombucha now well established and continuing to deliver strong double-digit growth. Among these, however, functional juice shots are emerging as one of the fastest-growing segments, driven by their convenience, flavour and concentrated nutritional profile.

A disruptor reshaping chilled juice

Category pioneer MOJU continues to shape the market as the UK’s leading functional juice shot brand⁷.

Founded in 2015 by Rich Goldsmith and Charlie Leet-Cook, the business began with the pair hand-pressing ginger and turmeric shots in a small lock-up in Staines, in search of a fresher, natural way to power their days.

MOJU introduced the UK’s first 60ml ginger shot into retail with a listing in Waitrose in 2016, and has continued to disrupt the category through both format and flavour innovation, including its award-winning multi-serve Dosing Bottle.

The brand has led the transformation of functional juice shots from their beginnings in 2015 as a healthy pick-me-up at music festivals and in specialty coffee shops into a mainstream fixture in supermarket chillers and a staple in the nation’s fridges, defining “natural functionality” through nutrient-rich, beneficial whole food ingredients, such as ginger and turmeric, delivered in a convenient and tasty format. This has attracted increased investment as multinational food and drink companies move into the space.

Rather than placing pressure on traditional chilled juice, the rise of functional juice shots is unlocking a new wave of growth and relevance, reshaping fixtures by offering a solution to evolving consumer expectations around functionality, wellbeing and lower sugar.

This shift is reflected in performance: MOJU has overtaken long-established brands such as Copella to become the fifth-largest brand in chilled juice, signalling both the scale of disruption and the changing dynamics of the category.

Strong financial performance signals further headroom

MOJU reported strong double-digit growth in its latest financial results, with revenue increasing 30% year-on-year as it scales in line with rising demand for convenient, naturally functional health & wellbeing solutions.

The brand generated the most value growth in total chilled juice after Innocent in January 2026, and delivered the greatest absolute value growth in functional juice shots over the past 52 weeks (+£8.9m)⁸.

Among leading UK retailers, its 420ml Ginger Dosing Bottle is now the number one retail sales value (RSV) product across the entire chilled juice category. With an industry-leading 44% repeat rate⁹—the highest in the category—the Dosing Bottle format has been key in establishing functional juice shots as part of people’s daily routine and driving sustained category value growth.

Rich Goldsmith, Co-Founder and CEO at MOJU, said: “We’re seeing a structural shift in how people approach their health and wellbeing; it’s becoming something people want to integrate into everyday life, rather than trying to fix things reactively.

“That’s driving demand for products that are convenient, effective and rooted in recognisable and trusted ingredients, and the growth in functional juice shots is a clear expression of that change.”

Rich continued that functional juice shots answer a need by delivering nutrient-rich whole foods in a way that consumers love the taste of and enjoy taking—a small but powerful daily ritual that combines health benefits with flavour, in a lower sugar format than traditional juices and soft drinks.

“At MOJU, that focus on delivering natural functionality is underpinned by our commitment to sourcing the highest quality ingredients as responsibly as we can, ensuring each shot delivers a powerful and potent hit of fresh ginger or turmeric, what we call our Super Roots™.”

As a result, Rich said the lines between food, drink and supplements are becoming increasingly blurred.

Rich added: “While the category reaching £100 million marks a significant milestone, it’s the result of more than a decade of groundwork. At MOJU, we’ve been building this space for over 11 years, and what we’re seeing now is a real inflection point as functional juice shots move firmly into the mainstream.

“With growing consumer demand and increasing relevance in daily routines, we believe there is significant headroom to continue to propel category growth forward.”