Choose no-added-sugar squash if you want a sweetened alternative to sugary squash, but compare total sugars and energy for the drink as prepared: the front-of-pack claim does not mean zero sugar. For a family holiday, also check the dilution directions, ingredients, age guidance and number of servings; NHS guidance identifies water and milk as the everyday drinks for children.
If you are making drinks for children or sharing accommodation, a concentrate may be convenient where drinking water is available. Check the bottle’s dilution and age directions rather than treating squash as a substitute for water.
A no-added-sugar claim can help narrow the choice, but fruit content and total sugars still vary. Compare nutrition on the same prepared-drink basis when deciding between standard squash and a high-juice variety.
Sweeteners and sulphites differ between recipes and flavours. Read the exact bottle’s ingredients and allergen declaration, especially when a phenylalanine warning or sulphites are relevant to someone who will drink it.
Start with the prepared drink’s nutrition and ingredients, then check how much water and concentrate you will need during the holiday.
| Priority | What to check | Your needs |
|---|---|---|
| Total sugars | Read the total-sugars and energy figures, and note whether they describe concentrate or the diluted drink. Compare servings prepared at their stated strengths. | I want a sweet drink without assuming that “no added sugar” means zero total sugars. Fruit ingredients can contribute sugars even where none have been added. |
| Ingredients | Check the named sweeteners, allergen declaration and any phenylalanine warning on the exact flavour. Recipes can differ within a range. | If a drinker needs to avoid a particular ingredient, I need the bottle’s full ingredient list rather than a general “diet” claim. The Food Standards Agency identifies sulphites in soft drinks as a potential concern for people who react to them. |
| Fruit content | Compare the stated fruit-juice percentage with the total-sugars figure; one does not establish the other. M&S lists 50% fruit juice for its no-added-sugar Pink Grapefruit High Juice. | Fruit-juice content matters to my choice, but I still want to know what is in the prepared drink. A higher-juice format is not automatically sugar-free. |
| Dilution | Follow each bottle’s ratio and compare serving figures on that basis. For example, the Robinsons Double Strength Orange listing at Sainsbury’s specifies one part squash to nine parts water. | I need a drink I can prepare consistently, especially when several people will share a bottle. Access to drinking water and a way to measure the concentrate matter while travelling. |
| Bottle quantity | Look at volume, strength and stated servings together rather than bottle size alone. Waitrose lists 60 servings for its Essential No Added Sugar Summer Fruits at its suggested one-to-nine dilution. | For a group holiday, I want enough prepared drinks without carrying more concentrate than necessary. The serving estimate is useful only if I use the stated dilution. |
| Children’s drinks | Read product-specific age and extra-dilution directions. M&S says its Orange Squash is not suitable for babies and advises extra water if it is given to older children. | I want to pack water as the main drink for children and check whether a particular squash is appropriate before serving it. NHS child-drinking guidance also identifies milk as an everyday option. |
Fruit-based ingredients can leave a no-added-sugar squash with a non-zero total-sugars figure. The claim on the front does not replace the nutrition panel.
Check total sugars and energy, then establish whether the figures are for concentrate or a prepared serving before comparing bottles.
Products prepared at different strengths cannot be compared fairly by looking only at concentrate volume or nutrition.
Follow each manufacturer’s ratio and use its prepared-serving information when comparing how much drink a bottle makes.
Using more concentrate than directed also means the bottle makes fewer drinks than its stated serving estimate.
The cited retailer listings include different sweeteners and sulphite-containing ingredients. Sainsbury’s lists aspartame and a phenylalanine warning for Ribena Blackcurrant No Added Sugar.
Read the current bottle’s ingredients and allergen information, particularly if phenylalanine or sulphites are relevant to a drinker.
Age directions are product-specific: M&S states that its Orange Squash is not suitable for babies. NHS child-drinking guidance identifies water and milk as everyday drinks.
Pack water for routine drinking. If offering squash to an older child, follow that product’s age and dilution directions.
These examples show why the precise flavour and format matter; a range name alone cannot establish its ingredients or prepared-drink nutrition.
Robinsons has no-added-sugar squash in several flavours and strengths. Sainsbury’s lists its Double Strength Orange at 0g sugars and 3kcal per 250ml when prepared one part squash to nine parts water.
Tesco Groceries lists own-label no-added-sugar squash, including quadruple-strength Cherries & Berries and Apple & Blackcurrant formats.
Sainsbury’s lists an own-label High Juice Orange Squash with no added sugar alongside branded squash.
M&S lists a double-strength Orange Squash made with 20% fruit and a no-added-sugar Pink Grapefruit High Juice made with 50% fruit juice.
Waitrose lists Essential No Added Sugar Summer Fruits as a 1.5L concentrated squash.
These no-added-sugar concentrates offer blackcurrant, tropical, orange, lemon and summer-fruit flavours in bottle sizes that may suit different holiday plans. Compare the current labels for dilution, prepared-drink sugars and ingredients before choosing.
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The 1.5L concentrate is a bottle-size option for drinks shared at holiday accommodation. Follow its dilution directions, check the ingredients if aspartame or sulphites matter, and observe the product’s advice against serving it to children under three.
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This 850ml concentrate offers a pineapple and passion-fruit flavour for mixing drinks away from home. Check the bottle’s mixing directions before comparing prepared servings, and read the ingredients if aspartame or sulphites are relevant.
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The 1L orange concentrate is an option if the group prefers a familiar citrus flavour. Check the current pack for total sugars and dilution before comparing prepared drinks; its age guidance says it is unsuitable for children under 36 months.
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This 1L lemon concentrate provides a citrus option for holiday drinks. Do not treat the no-added-sugar wording as a total-sugars figure: check the current nutrition panel and dilution directions. The product guidance says it is unsuitable for children under 36 months, and its phenylalanine warning matters for people with PKU.
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The 1L summer-fruit concentrate offers another flavour for shared drinks. Check total sugars on the current bottle before making a numerical comparison, and follow its dilution and child-serving directions. Read the ingredient list if aspartame or sulphites matter to a drinker.
No. The claim does not establish zero total sugars, because fruit ingredients can contribute sugars. Check the total-sugars line and whether it describes concentrate or the diluted drink; M&S lists its Pink Grapefruit High Juice as no added sugar while giving a non-zero sugars figure.
Follow the particular bottle’s age and dilution directions, and keep water available as the everyday drink. NHS child-drinking guidance identifies water and milk as everyday choices; M&S says its Orange Squash is not suitable for babies and advises extra water when it is given to older children.
Read the exact bottle for sweeteners, sulphites and any phenylalanine warning. Sainsbury’s lists aspartame and a phenylalanine warning for Ribena Blackcurrant No Added Sugar; that warning matters for people with PKU. The Food Standards Agency also identifies sulphites as a potential concern for people who react to them.
No. Fruit-juice percentage describes an ingredient, not the prepared drink’s total-sugars value. M&S lists 50% fruit juice for its no-added-sugar Pink Grapefruit High Juice, which also has a non-zero sugars figure; check the nutrition panel on the basis you will drink it.
Compare their stated dilution ratios and prepared servings, not concentrate volume alone. Waitrose lists 60 servings for Essential No Added Sugar Summer Fruits at its suggested one-part-squash-to-nine-parts-water dilution; a different mixing ratio changes how many drinks a bottle makes.