Choose plain soda water if you want neutral fizz without sugar, or a sugar-free tonic if you enjoy tonic bitterness and are happy with its ingredients. Choose a botanical sparkling drink for a more noticeable flavour, but check sugars on the exact pack: botanical and light-sounding names do not tell you how much sugar a drink contains. If you have phenylketonuria (PKU), check for aspartame; the NHS says it is unsuitable for people with PKU.
If you want fizz without making a sweetened soft drink your regular lunch choice, start by comparing sugars per 100 ml. Coca-Cola Great Britain lists Schweppes Soda Water at 0 g sugars per 100 ml; check the label of any other drink you are considering.
Tonic offers a different taste from plain sparkling water. Fever-Tree attributes tonic’s bitterness to quinine; compare regular and sugar-free versions by their nutrition panels and ingredients rather than assuming they are alike.
If you would rather drink something floral than neutral or bitter, an elderflower sparkling drink is another route. Check its sugars: Fentimans lists 4.2 g per 100 ml for Gently Sparkling Elderflower.
Pick the flavour you would actually drink with lunch, then compare sugar, ingredients and pack size within that type of drink.
| Priority | What to check | Your needs |
|---|---|---|
| Sugars | Read sugars per 100 ml and the amount you plan to drink. Coca-Cola Great Britain lists Schweppes Soda Water at 0 g sugars per 100 ml, while Fentimans lists its Gently Sparkling Elderflower at 4.2 g per 100 ml. | I want fizz with lunch without assuming that every sparkling drink has the same sugar content. |
| Flavour | Decide between neutral sparkling water, quinine-led tonic bitterness and a floral drink. Fever-Tree identifies quinine as the source of tonic’s bitterness. | A bitter tonic would suit me better than plain water; or I would rather have elderflower flavour than either. |
| Sweeteners | Read the full ingredients list on a slimline or low-calorie tonic. Tesco lists aspartame in Schweppes Slimline Tonic; the NHS says aspartame is unsuitable for people with PKU. | If I have PKU, I need to check for aspartame or E951 before choosing a sweetened tonic. |
| Pack size | Check the size of each can or bottle, not just the size of a multipack. Fentimans lists 275 ml and 750 ml formats for Gently Sparkling Elderflower; the format offered can vary by product. | I would prefer a container I can take to work and drink at lunch rather than opening a larger bottle. |
Product type and flavouring matter. Coca-Cola Great Britain lists 0 g sugars per 100 ml for Schweppes Soda Water, whereas Fentimans lists 4.2 g per 100 ml for Gently Sparkling Elderflower.
Compare sugars per 100 ml, then consider how much of the container you expect to drink. Do not use words such as ‘botanical’ as a substitute for the nutrition panel.
A tonic can have no sugar and still contain a sweetener that matters to you. Tesco lists aspartame in Schweppes Slimline Tonic, and the NHS says aspartame is unsuitable for people with PKU.
If you have PKU, check the ingredients of the exact pack for aspartame or E951 rather than relying on its front-of-pack description.
Tonic’s quinine-led bitterness and an elderflower drink’s floral flavour are different choices, even when both are sparkling.
Settle on neutral, bitter or floral flavour first. Then compare the nutrition information and container size of drinks in that group.
Its soda water and slimline tonic illustrate the choice between neutral fizz and tonic flavour.
A tonic range to consider if you want quinine-led bitterness rather than plain sparkling water.
Its Gently Sparkling Elderflower offers a floral alternative to neutral water or bitter tonic.
Its tonic range includes a low-calorie Indian tonic for shoppers comparing tonic ingredients.
These options cover tonic, plain sparkling mineral water and elderflower fizz for an office lunch. Compare the label of the exact pack when sugar or sweetener ingredients matter to your choice.
No image available
For a lunch where you want tonic rather than plain fizz, this pack has twelve 150 ml cans. Check the cans’ ingredients for aspartame if you have PKU, and read their nutrition panel for sugars.
No image available
Choose plain sparkling mineral water if you would rather have fizz without tonic or elderflower flavour. This pack contains six 0.5 L bottles; check the individual bottle size against what you want to carry for lunch.
No image available
A 330 ml elderflower option if you want floral fizz rather than plain water or tonic. Read its sugars per 100 ml and per container instead of assuming an elderflower drink is sugar-free.
No image available
If you prefer tonic to plain fizz, this pack contains eight 150 ml cans. Check the sugars and ingredients on this Naturally Light variant; its name alone does not mean sugar-free.
Start by checking plain soda water if you are happy with a neutral taste. Coca-Cola Great Britain lists Schweppes Soda Water at 0 g sugars per 100 ml. A slimline tonic may also have no sugar, but check its sweetener ingredients if you prefer tonic bitterness.
No: those words describe the drink, not its sugar content. Fentimans lists 4.2 g sugars per 100 ml for Gently Sparkling Elderflower, so read the nutrition panel on the exact drink and pack size.
Check the ingredients and avoid a tonic containing aspartame or E951: the NHS says aspartame is unsuitable for people with PKU. Tesco lists aspartame in Schweppes Slimline Tonic, and Britvic lists it in its low-calorie Indian tonic.
GOV.UK food-labelling guidance identifies ‘with sweetener(s)’ for drinks containing sweeteners and ‘with sugar and sweetener(s)’ when both are present. Use the statement as a prompt to read the full ingredients list and nutrition panel.