Choose a still smoothie if you want a fruit-purée drink, or a sparkling fruit drink if fizz matters more than smoothie texture. Sparkling flavoured water is another fizzy option, but its ingredients differ from both juice and smoothies, so compare the label at the amount you plan to drink. For a TV-night snack outside a meal, bear in mind that NHS guidance limits fruit juice and smoothies to a combined 150ml a day and advises having them at mealtimes.
If carbonation is the point, check for a sparkling juice drink rather than assuming a smoothie will be fizzy. The Tesco and M&S smoothie examples are fruit-juice-and-purée blends, while the Appletiser listing at Waitrose describes carbonated apple juice.
A larger bottle can contain several servings. Compare sugars at the amount you intend to pour, and account for NHS guidance to limit fruit juice and smoothies to a combined 150ml a day and have them at mealtimes.
Sparkling flavoured water offers fizz without smoothie texture or fruit purée. Check whether its flavour comes from juice or flavourings and whether the ingredients include sweeteners; Sainsbury’s mango and passion fruit example contains sucralose.
Decide whether texture or fizz matters more before comparing labels. These formats can share fruit-flavour wording without having the same ingredients.
Choose when: You want a juice-and-fruit-purée blend rather than carbonation.
Consider: It will not provide fizz, and NHS portion and mealtime guidance applies to smoothies.
Choose when: A carbonated fruit drink matters more than smoothie texture.
Consider: Carbonated juice is not a fruit-purée smoothie; check its sugars at your intended serving size.
Choose when: You want fruit flavour and fizz without choosing juice or a smoothie.
Consider: The flavour may come from flavourings, and the drink may contain sweeteners rather than fruit juice.
| Priority | What to check | Your needs |
|---|---|---|
| Drink format | Look for “sparkling” or “carbonated” if you want fizz. Read the ingredients to distinguish fruit purée, carbonated juice and flavoured carbonated water. | I’d rather have a thicker fruit-purée drink than fizz—or I want carbonation enough to choose a different format. |
| Sugars | Compare the same volume as well as the pack’s stated serving. Tesco lists 15.0g sugars per 150ml for Strawberry Sensation smoothie; Sainsbury’s lists 16.5g per 150ml for its Mango & Passionfruit smoothie. Waitrose lists 10.5g per 100ml for Appletiser sparkling apple juice, while Sainsbury’s lists less than 0.5g per 250ml for its no-added-sugar mango and passion fruit sparkling water. | If I expect to drink a full can or a poured glass, I want to know the sugars in that amount rather than compare unlike serving sizes. |
| Portion and occasion | Check the bottle or can size against what you intend to drink. The NHS advises limiting fruit juice and smoothies to a combined 150ml a day and having them at mealtimes rather than between meals to reduce tooth-decay risk. | For TV time outside a meal, I want a drink that fits the occasion without treating a large smoothie bottle as a single serving. |
| Current ingredients | Read the current pack for ingredients, allergens, nutrition and storage instructions. Check specifically for juice, purée, flavourings and sweeteners rather than relying on a fruit-flavour name. | Ingredients matter to me, especially if I’m avoiding a particular allergen or want juice rather than a flavoured-water drink. |
The Tesco and Sainsbury’s smoothie examples contain juices and purées; the Waitrose Appletiser example is carbonated apple juice. A fruit-flavour name alone does not tell you whether a drink is sparkling.
If fizz is essential, confirm that the product description or ingredients say “sparkling” or “carbonated” before choosing a flavour.
A 750ml bottle holds five 150ml portions. NHS guidance limits fruit juice and smoothies together to 150ml a day and recommends having them at mealtimes.
Check the portion information, pour the amount you intend to have and follow the pack’s storage instructions for the remainder.
Waitrose lists 10.5g sugars per 100ml for Appletiser sparkling apple juice. Sainsbury’s no-added-sugar mango and passion fruit sparkling water lists less than 0.5g per 250ml and contains sucralose: these are different drinks with different ingredients.
Compare sugars at the volume you plan to drink, then read the ingredients to see whether it contains juice, purée, flavourings or sweeteners.
An individual recipe or its label details may change, which matters when an ingredient or allergen affects your choice.
Check the current product pack for ingredients, allergens, nutrition and storage information before drinking it.
These examples show how named smoothie ranges and sparkling drinks differ; a brand or retailer name alone does not establish the format of an individual bottle.
Innocent describes its range as fruit-and-vegetable smoothies.
Tesco’s smoothie listings include Naked Protein Machine and Fibre Machine products.
Tesco Strawberry Sensation Smoothie 750ml is an own-label juice-and-purée blend.
Sainsbury’s Mango & Passionfruit Smoothie 750ml contains juices, fruit purées and chicory-root fibre.
M&S describes ready-made fruit smoothies in 350ml and 750ml bottles.
Waitrose lists Appletiser Sparkling Apple Juice 6 x 250ml, a carbonated apple-juice drink rather than a smoothie.
These products offer sparkling apple or apple-and-mango drinks and a peach-flavoured bottled option to consider alongside a TV-night snack. Compare their current labels if you are choosing between fruit juice, another fruit-flavoured drink and smoothie texture.
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Consider this if you want carbonated apple juice rather than smoothie texture. Joybuy lists 26g sugars per 250ml serving for this product; a full can is larger than the NHS combined daily 150ml guidance for juice and smoothies, which the NHS advises having at mealtimes.
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For apple-and-mango flavour with fizz instead of smoothie texture, this product is labelled sparkling and comes in a pack of four 250ml drinks. Check the current ingredients and nutrition label for the amount you intend to drink.
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If peach flavour appeals more than a fruit-purée smoothie, check the current 500ml bottle label for carbonation, ingredients and sugars before choosing it for a fizzy TV-night drink. “Zero” is part of the product name; use the nutrition panel for the stated values.
Not necessarily. Waitrose describes Appletiser as carbonated apple juice, while the Tesco and Sainsbury’s smoothie examples combine juices with fruit purées. Check the specific drink’s description and ingredients for both carbonation and purée rather than assuming fruit flavour means smoothie texture.
For TV time outside a meal, a smoothie does not fit the NHS advice to have fruit juice and smoothies at mealtimes rather than between meals to reduce tooth-decay risk. The NHS also advises limiting the two combined to 150ml a day; consider the timing and portion before pouring from a larger bottle.
No: read the sugars value and ingredients on the individual drink. Sainsbury’s lists less than 0.5g sugars per 250ml for its no-added-sugar mango and passion fruit sparkling water, which contains sucralose; Waitrose lists 10.5g sugars per 100ml for Appletiser sparkling apple juice. The products also differ in whether they contain fruit juice.
Check the current pack’s product description, ingredients, allergens, nutrition values and stated serving size, especially if you have a dietary restriction or need to distinguish juice from flavoured water. GOV.UK states that prepacked food requires mandatory labelling and that food labels must be accurate and not misleading.