People limiting sugar from drinks
Plain water avoids the need to compare flavoured recipes. If you want flavour instead, look at the exact product’s sugar declaration and ingredients rather than relying on its name alone.
Who is choosing a drink?
The useful distinction is whether you want plain water, flavour or fizz alongside festival food, and how you will carry it.
People carrying drinks around the site
An individual bottle may be easier to take between food stalls and activities than a large bottle or a whole multipack. Highland Spring lists 330ml, 500ml and 750ml still-water formats; the size you can bring in depends on your event’s rules.
People who prefer fizz
Plain sparkling mineral water offers carbonation without choosing a fruit flavour. A no-added-sugar flavoured sparkling drink is another route, but its ingredient list may include a sweetener.
What should you check?
Decide on plain or flavoured water and still or sparkling water first. Then compare the label and choose a format that fits how you will use it at the festival.
| Priority | What to check | Your needs |
|---|---|---|
| Plain water | Choose still or sparkling according to your preference. Check the bottle size and whether you are buying a single bottle or a pack. | I want water with my food without choosing a flavoured recipe. If I prefer fizz, plain sparkling water is an option. |
| Sugar in flavoured drinks | Read the exact range name, then compare sugars and energy on the nutrition panel per 100ml and per serving. The NHS suggests diet, sugar-free or no-added-sugar drinks as swaps for sugary drinks. | Flavour matters to me, but I do not want to assume that a low-sugar range and a sugar-free range have the same nutrition. |
| Ingredients | Check the ingredient list as well as a no-added-sugar claim, particularly for sweeteners and other ingredients you prefer to avoid. | I would like a fizzy or fruit-flavoured drink, but I want to know what is in this particular bottle before buying it. |
| Carrying format | Compare individual bottle sizes with larger bottles and multipacks. Check your festival’s current rules on bringing drinks in and where you could keep a larger pack. | I will be moving around the site, so a bottle I can carry matters more to me than storing several bottles together. |
Common buying mistakes
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Assuming every flavoured water is sugar-free
Volvic describes its standard Touch of Fruit range as low in sugars, while Touch of Fruit Sugar Free is a separate range. The shared brand name does not make their nutrition identical.
Check the complete range name and the sugar declaration on the bottle you intend to buy.
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Reading “no added sugar” as “no sweetener”
Sainsbury’s describes its Lemon & Lime sparkling flavoured water as a no-added-sugar drink with sweetener. That wording does not make it equivalent to unflavoured water.
Read the ingredient list if sweeteners or other added ingredients affect your choice.
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Choosing a pack without a carrying plan
Individual 500ml bottles, larger bottles and multipacks serve different purposes. A pack bought for a group may be awkward to carry around the site as one unit.
Choose the format for where you will drink or store it, and check the festival’s current entry rules before packing bottles.
Brand and retailer references
These examples show formats and label distinctions to compare; a brand name alone does not establish the ingredients of every product in its range.
Highland Spring
Plain still spring water in individual and larger bottle formats.
- Highland Spring lists still-water bottles from 330ml to 2L, including 500ml bottles.
- Check the cap and pack format on the particular listing if either matters for carrying.
Evian
Still natural mineral water listed by Tesco in individual bottles and multipacks.
- Tesco lists a 500ml single bottle and a 6 x 1.5L pack.
- Select the bottle size for your plans rather than treating a larger pack as an individual carrying format.
Volvic
Flavoured still water with separately named standard and Sugar Free Touch of Fruit ranges.
- Volvic lists its Touch of Fruit Sugar Free range in 500ml, 750ml and 1.5L formats.
- Standard Touch of Fruit is described by Volvic as low in sugars, not as the same sugar-free range; check the exact bottle.
Buxton
Plain sparkling natural mineral water for people who want carbonation without fruit flavour.
- Buxton lists a sparkling 500ml x 8 format.
- Choose still water instead if you do not want carbonation.
Tesco
Own-label still and sparkling water in multipack formats.
- Tesco’s water catalogue lists British Natural Mineral Water Still in a 12 x 500ml pack.
- Check whether a listed pack fits your storage and festival-entry plans.
Sainsbury’s
Own-label flavoured sparkling water, including a no-added-sugar Lemon & Lime 1L example.
- The Lemon & Lime listing identifies a carbonated, no-added-sugar drink with sweetener.
- Check its ingredient list if you want to avoid sweeteners or prefer plain water.
Joybuy bottled-water options
These options cover individual bottles within flavoured-water multipacks, plain sparkling water and plain mineral water. Compare the format and exact label against what you want to drink with festival food.
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Volvic Touch of Strawberry Sugar Free Water, 6 x 500ml
A strawberry-flavoured still-water option in individual bottles for someone who wants flavour with festival food. Check the current ingredients if you avoid sweeteners, and carry bottles individually rather than treating the multipack as one portable serving.
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Buxton Sparkling Water, 8 x 500ml
Choose this plain sparkling-water format if you want fizz without fruit flavour. The 500ml bottles can be carried individually; consider where the rest of the pack will stay during the festival.
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Highland Spring Sugar Free Strawberry Still Water, 1.25L
A larger strawberry-flavoured still-water bottle to consider for a meal area or sharing rather than carrying between stalls. The calorie statements for this variant conflict, so check the bottle’s nutrition panel before relying on a calorie figure; check the ingredients too if you avoid particular additives.
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evian Mineral Water, 6 x 500ml
A plain mineral-water option for drinking with food without choosing a flavoured recipe. The pack contains individual 500ml bottles; check your festival’s rules before bringing them onto the site.
Questions about festival drinks
Should I choose plain water if I want less sugar from drinks?
Plain water lets you avoid comparing flavoured-water recipes. If you would rather have flavour, the NHS also suggests diet, sugar-free or no-added-sugar drinks as swaps for sugary drinks; check the exact product’s nutrition panel and ingredients.
Are sugar-free and low-sugar flavoured waters the same?
No. Volvic describes standard Touch of Fruit as low in sugars and sells Touch of Fruit Sugar Free as a separate range. Read the full product name and nutrition panel instead of assuming every flavour under one brand has the same formulation.
Can a no-added-sugar sparkling drink contain sweetener?
Yes. Sainsbury’s describes its Lemon & Lime sparkling flavoured water as no added sugar and as containing sweetener. Check the current ingredient list if that affects your choice.
What bottle size works for a festival day?
A 500ml bottle is one individual carrying format listed by brands including Highland Spring and Volvic. Larger bottles or multipacks may suit a group or a place to leave supplies, but check your festival’s current rules before bringing any bottled drinks in.