SUGARY DRINKS LEVY IN THE UK TIGHTENED

🚨 𝐔𝐊 𝐭𝐨 𝐰𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐒𝐨𝐟𝐭 𝐃𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐤𝐬 𝐈𝐧𝐝𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐲 𝐋𝐞𝐯𝐲 (𝐒𝐃𝐈𝐋) 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐮𝐠𝐚𝐫𝐲 𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐤 & 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐭-𝐛𝐚𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐝𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐤𝐬; 𝐥𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐥𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝟒.𝟓𝐠/𝟏𝟎𝟎𝐦𝐥 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝟏 𝐉𝐚𝐧 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟖.

The UK Government has confirmed it will end the exemption for pre-packaged milk-based drinks with added sugar (e.g., bottled milkshakes, flavoured milks, sweetened yoghurt drinks, RTD milky coffees) and bring plant-based alternatives with added sugar into scope.

At the same time, the entry threshold drops from 5.0g to 4.5g total sugars/100ml, expanding the number of products liable unless reformulated. 𝐏𝐥𝐚𝐢𝐧 𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐤 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐮𝐧𝐬𝐰𝐞𝐞𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐤 𝐚𝐥𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐬 𝐫𝐞𝐦𝐚𝐢𝐧 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐬𝐜𝐨𝐩𝐞, 𝐚𝐬 𝐝𝐨 “𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐧-𝐜𝐮𝐩” 𝐝𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐤𝐬 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐧 𝐜𝐚𝐟é𝐬, as do “open-cup” drinks prepared in cafés. Levy bands and rates remain: 19.4p/L for 4.5–7.9g/100ml and 25p/L for ≥8g/100ml. Go-live is 1 January 2028, allowing industry time to reformulate.

Policy design includes a “lactose allowance” so that naturally occurring lactose is largely excluded when determining liability; added or hydrolysed lactose and lactose from whey powder still count. 𝐅𝐨𝐫 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐭-𝐛𝐚𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐝𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐤𝐬, 𝐬𝐮𝐠𝐚𝐫𝐬 𝐫𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐫𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐭 (𝐞.𝐠., 𝐨𝐚𝐭𝐬/𝐬𝐨𝐲𝐚) 𝐤𝐞𝐞𝐩 𝐮𝐧𝐬𝐰𝐞𝐞𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐝𝐮𝐜𝐭𝐬 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐬𝐜𝐨𝐩𝐞.

Government shifted the implementation date from the originally proposed April 2027 to 1st January 2028 (to reflect reformulation challenges and concurrent DRS rollout) and plans a technical consultation on draft legislation in 2026, followed by inclusion in a Finance Bill ahead of commencement.

The aim of the bill is to help curb the “obesity crisis” in the UK and protect British children, who suffer from one of the highest obesity rates in the Western world.

Obesity is one of the root causes of diabetes, heart disease, and cancer: the UK is now having the third-highest rate of adult obesity in Europe, and this is costing the NHS approximately £11.4 billion a year, 3 times the NHS budget for ambulance services.

Obesity is a complex and multifactorial issue, and taxes alone have demonstrated in the past not to be enough to tackle the issue, but are certainly one of the tools that have an impact on consumers’ behaviour, and governments can consider within a broader strategy.

Source: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/soft-drink-levy-extended-to-protect-children-and-improve-health