To celebrate the live-action reimagining of their 2002 animated classic Disney Lilo & Stitch, Radnor Fruits has launched three character-inspired flavoured drinks.
The specially branded 200ml Tetra Paks feature a design of the Disney Stitch character from the film and in flavours which include Apple, Forest Fruits and Orange.
The Radnor Fruits Disney Stitch range is packaged in lunch box ready Tetra Pak cartons, made with a pull tab technology which means children can drink straight from the pack.
Kirthi Pearala, Head of Grocery Retail for Radnor Hills tells Grocery Trader more about the collaboration and about the trends that are driving the bottled water sector.
What’s your background? How long have you been at Radnor Hills and where were you before?
I’ve been with Radnor Hills since January 2025 and in the FMCG industry for nearly 20 years. Prior to joining Radnor Hills I worked as a buyer for retailers including Asda and Sainsburys and also worked as an account manager for KP Snacks and a sales controller for The Bart Ingredients Company.
What attracted me to Radnor Hills – apart from how special its people are – is the company’s strong values, entrepreneurial spirit and commitment to producing high-quality soft drinks. It’s a business with a fantastic reputation and genuine ambition for growth, particularly in the Grocery sector.
Tell us about your role – what does a typical day look like for you?
No two days are ever the same, which is one of the things I really enjoy about my role. My focus is on working closely with our grocery retail partners to help grow both the category and our brands. That can involve anything from joint business planning and promotional activity through to analysing shopper trends, reviewing category performance and identifying opportunities for innovation.
A typical day will include a review of market data, customer meetings, collaborating internally with our marketing and supply chain teams, and making sure we’re delivering the right products and support to meet retailer and consumer needs. I’ll have an eye on upcoming range reviews and what NPD we’re working on.
At Radnor Hills we pride ourselves on being strategic, agile and extremely customer-focused, so there’s a strong emphasis on communication and partnership across every area of the business.
How do you stay customer-focused in your role?
Staying close to our customers is absolutely essential. We spend a lot of time listening to retailers, understanding their challenges and analysing what shoppers are really looking for in-store.
Grocery is a very data-led channel and we’re very proactive about giving buyers data driven ideas and customer insights to maximise their shelf space.
Consumer habits are evolving quickly, particularly around health, convenience and sustainability, so we make sure we’re constantly reviewing insight and market data to ensure our brands remain relevant. We also value regular face-to-face engagement with customers because strong relationships and honest conversations are key to delivering long-term success.
At the end of the day, our role is to help retailers grow their sales and profit while offering products consumers genuinely want to buy.
Can you share examples of successful ways you’ve worked with customers recently?
Collaboration is a huge part of what we do. One recent example has been working closely with retailers on tailored activation plans around our Radnor Fruits Disney Lilo & Stitch range.
The specially branded 200ml Tetra Paks feature a design of the Disney Stitch character from the film and in flavours which include Apple, Forest Fruits and Orange.
Radnor Fruits is a School Approved (in England, Wales and Northern Ireland) range of ambient juice drinks which contain 50% Radnor Hills spring water, 50% real fruit juice and no added sugar.
We’re seeing branded and licensing products like this really fuelling the growth of the category and parents are looking for products that they can trust and that their kids will enjoy.
By combining strong in-store visibility with digital support, sampling and social media engagement, including an extremely successful TikTok live event with giveaways, we were able to create real excitement around our launch in Morrisons. It was only our second ever product launch on TikTok Live and within two hours it had become the number 1 FMCG brand on TikTok Shop. For a team that is still learning TikTok live as we go, this was a huge moment.
We also support retailers through seasonal promotions, on-pack campaigns and category-led ranging advice designed to maximise sales opportunities.
Previous partnerships with brands and attractions include Alton Towers, Go Ape and Sea Life and they’ve demonstrated how the right collaborations can drive shopper engagement and incremental sales.
Our aim is always to create partnerships that deliver value for both retailers and consumers.
What is the value of the UK bottled water sector?
The UK bottled water sector continues to be a significant and resilient category within soft drinks – worth £4 billion a year in retail sales – driven by strong consumer demand for healthier hydration options. Bottled water remains one of the fastest-growing segments in soft drinks as consumers increasingly move away from high-sugar beverages and look for products that fit into healthier lifestyles. There’s also continued growth in flavoured water and functional hydration, with shoppers increasingly seeking premium products that offer both taste and health credentials. Convenience remains another key factor, particularly with on-the-go consumption continuing to perform strongly.
What trends are driving the market right now?
Health and wellness is undoubtedly one of the biggest drivers. Consumers are paying much closer attention to sugar content, ingredients and transparency, which is why products with no added sugar and clear health credentials that don’t compromise on taste or flavour are performing well.
We recently launched Radnor Hydrate, a clean and simple drink blending 60% tropical juice with 40% natural spring water, compliant with HFSS, school nutrition standards and suitable across many channels. It is a celebration of simplicity for healthy hydration.
We’re also seeing strong demand for products that combine convenience with sustainability. Packaging innovation, recyclable formats and reducing environmental impact are becoming increasingly important considerations for both consumers, especially Gen Z and Gen Alpha consumers, and retailers.
Environmental sustainability is at the forefront of the company, and we’re committed to minimising our impact. Radnor Hills is aiming to be net-zero by 2045 and we’ve submitted our plan to the Science Based Targets Initiative (SBTi) for validation, one of the few SMEs in FMCG sector to do so. We’ve been a zero-to-landfill manufacturing site since 2018, have our own on-site solar farm which powers 25% of our factory, recyclable packaging and have been certified to ISO 14001 standard. We’ve also won a number of awards for our sustainability.
Flavour innovation also continues to drive excitement within the category too, particularly among younger consumers and families. Licensed partnerships – such as our collaboration with Disney – and limited-edition products help brands create standout on shelf and generate social media engagement.
Social media is also reshaping family shopping habits with consumers building a strong brand affinity socially which then helps to drive sales directly to the Grocery channel.
Going forward, I’d expect the Deposit Return Scheme (DRS) to lead a big change in consumer behaviour.
How are Radnor Hills’ brands performing?
Our brands are performing strongly across a number of channels, and we’re in our flavoured and school-compliant ranges.
Radnor Fruits and Radnor Fizz continue to resonate well with families thanks to their strong health credentials, great taste and convenience. Our products are HFSS compliant, contain no added sugar and are designed to support healthier hydration choices.
We’re also seeing continued growth across our broader portfolio, including flavoured waters and sparkling ranges, as consumers increasingly seek healthier alternatives within soft drinks.
Our flagship brand Radnor Splash, a market leader and one of the best-selling flavoured water brands in the UK, is smashing it at the moment. It sells at the rate of two units every second, and is currently growing almost 4 times faster than the total flavoured water category and 7 times faster than the market leader. It’s also growing 3 x faster than the rest of the soft drinks market (£ value) and 7 x faster than the rest of the soft drinks market (volume).
Radnor Spring and Radnor Hydrate were recently introduced as a new generation of soft drinks, both designed to broaden our appeal beyond our core still and flavoured water offerings. The response has been fantastic. We’re not only responding to market trends, we’re looking to shape them, and at accessible price points. Radnor Spring, for example, fills that gap for older teenagers and young adults.
As an independent, family-owned business, we’re proud to remain agile and innovative while continuing to invest in our brands and customer partnerships.
Tell us about the brand’s collaboration with Disney. How have the Lilo & Stitch branded drinks performed?
The collaboration with Disney has been incredibly exciting for us and the response has been very positive from both retailers and consumers.
To celebrate the live-action reimagining of Disney Lilo & Stitch, we launched three specially branded Radnor Fruits drinks in Apple, Forest Fruits and Orange flavours. The 200ml Tetra Pak cartons feature Stitch branding and are perfectly designed for lunchboxes and on-the-go occasions.
The launch generated strong interest because it combines a trusted family drinks brand with a globally recognised entertainment property. Retailers and foodservice operators have responded really positively and the products have performed strongly from launch, particularly with families looking for healthier drinks options that children will enjoy.
Between October 2025 and March 2026, we sold 1.2m individual cartons of Disney Tetra into the UK market. Morrisons also saw their rate of sale triple compared with the brand we replaced.
Are these drinks a permanent line or a limited edition?
The Disney Stitch range was our first collaboration with Disney and we’re delighted to be launching more character-inspired flavoured drinks to tie in with their future films.
Limited-edition launches are a great way to generate buzz, encourage trial and create standout in-store. They also give retailers something new and engaging to offer shoppers.
Timed to coincide with Disney’s blockbuster summer movie Toy Story 5, we’ve also unveiled our new look packs featuring the iconic character Woody from the film.
What marketing support are the Disney drinks receiving?
We’ve put significant support behind the launches to help maximise visibility and consumer engagement.
Our multi-channel marketing campaigns include advertising, in-store sampling and POS and social media activity, including TikTok live events and interactive giveaways.
We’re also working closely with our retail partners to ensure strong in-store execution and visibility because we know licensed products perform best when supported with impactful activation.
Having a seamless blend of digital and consumer engagement is great.
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