The 118-year-old company behind Vimto is now selling protein water in the UK
Key Points
- Nichols will launch Myprotein Clear Whey Protein Water in the UK from September through its partnership with THG.
- The launch takes the 118-year-old Vimto owner into functional and health drinks for the first time.
- Nichols now licenses Levi Roots, ICEE, Sunkist and Myprotein alongside its own Vimto brand.
- Group revenue rose 4.7% to £89.5 million in the half year to 30 June 2026, with profit before tax up 31.6% to £15 million.
- Africa remains the fastest-growing region, with revenue up 17.2% to £16.1 million.
Nichols, the 118-year-old drinks group behind Vimto, will start selling a Myprotein-branded protein water in the UK from September.
The company confirmed the launch in its interim results for the half year to 30 June 2026, published on Wednesday (29 July).
Myprotein Clear Whey Protein Water arrives through an existing partnership with THG, the Manchester-based group that owns the Myprotein brand, and takes Nichols into ‘the functional drinks’ market for the first time.
The company describes the move as an entry into the health and wellness category, which it identifies as one of the faster-growing parts of the UK soft drinks market.
Andrew Milne, Chief Executive Officer of Nichols, said the launch extends the group’s innovation pipeline and demonstrates its ability to use trusted brands and partnerships to reach adjacent growth opportunities.
Milne pointed to the same approach across the wider portfolio, where Nichols increasingly sells drinks under names it does not own.
Nichols sells more than Vimto
Vimto remains the group’s core asset, but Nichols now licenses a growing list of third-party brands including Levi Roots, ICEE, Sunkist and Myprotein.
The company operates what it calls an asset-light model, licensing production and distribution rather than owning large manufacturing estates, and sells across five UK soft drinks sub-categories: squash, flavoured carbonates, fruit drinks, energy and flavoured water. Myprotein Protein Water adds a sixth area for the group.
UK sales up
UK Packaged revenue rose 2.3% to £48.1m in the first half, from £47.0m a year earlier.
Nichols attributes the growth to new distribution wins, share gains in carbonates and continued momentum in Vimto Energy, where the company added new flavours and pack formats during the period. The Love the Taste marketing campaign returns in the second half.
Group revenue increased 4.7% to £89.5 million, up from £85.5 million in the first half of 2025. Profit before tax rose 31.6% to £15 million, and basic earnings per share reached 30.30p, against 23.33p a year earlier.
Central overheads rose to £9.6 million from £8.8 million, which Nichols links to higher IT and systems support costs following the rollout of its new enterprise resource planning platform.
International Packaged revenue grew 12.8% to £22 million. Africa drove most of that, rising 17.2% to £16.1 million as Nichols continued shifting Vimto production closer to the point of consumption through a concentrate model.
The company completed the first phase in Senegal and expects to finish a second production facility in Ivory Coast this year.
