In what was a challenging year for the leisure and catering industries, soft drinks achieved a volume increase of four per cent according to the Britvic Soft Drinks annual category report for 2001.

According to the report, the leisure and catering industries are now worth £8.5m to the soft drinks market, selling more than 2.7bn litres of soft drinks last year.

'Soft drinks remain core to the leisure and catering channel and are highly profitable,' said Britvic's sales director, Paul Moody.

In a reflection of the total market, there was an increased demand for still, natural and healthier products, a trend that Britvic predict is set to continue in 2002.

'The soft drinks category is a dynamic and rapidly changing environment, and soft drinks repertoires are widening, with drinkers choosing products that suit their physical and emotional needs,' said category director at Britvic, Andrew Marsden. 'New categories will take soft drinks beyond the concept of fun and refreshment, and create a new breed of functional drinks.'