The manufacture of fruit and vegetable juice was the fastest growing sub sector in the UK food industry, growing 17% from £654 million in 2017 to £768 million in 2018.

Analysis of the latest ONS PRODCOM data by Santander shows that more than half of people aged 16 to 24 consume juice drinks at least once a day.

Consumption of smoothies has seen the biggest increase among all fruit juice drinks with Brits spending £112 million alone on these last year alone.

Sales of UK manufactured beer have meanwhile hit their lowest level in a decade at £3.1 billion – down from £3.7 billion the year before – as young people increasingly turn to alcohol free alternatives. Beer sales reached their peak in 2009, when Brits consumed £4.8 billion in beer.

Food and drink remained the largest UK manufacturing sector in 2018, reporting sales of £71.8 billion – a 3% increase on 2017.

“The last decade has seen the food and drink industry shaken up with huge shifts in consumer buying habits – from growing interest in veganism to juice and smoothie diets,” said Andrew Williams, Head of Food & Drink Sector, Santander UK.

“Manufacturers are having to respond quicker than ever to develop new products to meet customer demand – a pattern which is likely to continue as Brits explore the latest food fads.”

Ice cream was the second fastest growing food manufacturing sub sector, increasing 14% from £383 million to £437 million in manufacturing sales value.

An unusually hot summer and a shake-up of manufacturers’ product offering, including allergy-friendly and low-calorie options, boosted sales across the UK. The rise of consumers adopting a plant-based diet saw sales of vegan ice cream jump by 26%.

Despite the surge in sales of fruit and vegetable and ice cream, British staples of cheese (£7.8 billion), bread, cakes and pastries (£6 billion) and processed meat (£7.9 billion) held their place as the foods with the highest sales in the UK overall.