Juice has always had a shifting place in today’s beverage industry. One minute consumers love it for its fresh image, natural ingredients and delicious taste. The next it’s vilified for its sugar content.
The category is learning to adapt by leaning into its health and wellness positioning, freshness and quality and diversification with functional add-ons and vegetable blends.
Today, the juice category is also about how well brands resonate with consumers.
Brand Finance’s annual brand rankings ranks the top global juice brands in 2025: assessing the value of earnings specifically related to brand reputation.
In top place: Innocent
Innocent started back in 1999 as a small British business: based on fresh fruits and veg, friendly branding, bobble hats and a pledge to put sustainability front and center.
Fast-forward 25 years and the brand is owned by Coca-Cola and boasts an operation with global scale and clout (Coca-Cola first bought an 18% stake in the company in 2009, taking full control in 2013).
Innocent has become the most valuable brand in the juice category in 2025, and it’s done it in style. A 60% increase in brand value from 2024 pushes it to $989m, up from third place in 2024.
Innocent also ranks at #23 in the list of the world’s most valuable non-alcoholic drinks brands as well: a list that’s topped by Coca-Cola and Pepsi.
So how’s it done it?
“The brand has maintained momentum through product diversification,” noted Chenlin Tong, Associate Director at Brand Finance.
“Originally known for its smoothies, it has expanded into juices, flavored sparkling waters, coconut water, and children’s products, broadening its consumer base and usage.”
Brand Finance partly attributes this growth to improved financial performance and a strategic packaging refresh at the end of 2024, which sought to improve visual consistency and unify the brand’s identity.
And what’s more, its playful, friendly and colorful branding makes it a brand that people simply like.
Added to that is charitable causes: the brand is known for its annual ‘Big Knit’ in the UK to help older people live well.
“Our research also indicates strong consumer sentiment in the UK, with high price acceptance (9.4/10), suggesting willingness to pay a premium based on perceived quality and trust,” said Tong.
“Combined, these factors have contributed to Innocent’s continued growth despite category maturity.”
It’s not all been plain sailing, of course (it’s just seen a challenging financial year as it adjusts to new operating models and scale) but is on the up with a new Rotterdam factory and strong market share across core markets.
The top five: Kagome, Minute Maid, Del Valle
Meanwhile, Japanese juice brand Kagome has also climbed two places to second, with a brand value of $780m. A much older player (founded in 1899), Kagome has a Japanese stronghold but also a presence in the US and Australia.
This is followed by Coca-Cola’s Minute Maid (brand value $743m) and Mexico’s Del Valle at $679m.
And UK household favorite Robinsons (Carlsberg Britvic) rounds out the top five at $433m.
