Customers are returning to staples such as fizzy drinks and squash as the consumer downturn drives them away from expensive fruit juices and smoothies, one of Britain’s biggest soft drink-makers said today.

Britvic said consumers are trading away from premium juices and into cheaper alternatives, such as cola and juice drinks.

It also said there were signs that fizzy drinks were coming back into fashion having been made a health pariah two years ago in the midst of Jamie Oliver’s school dinner campaign and fears of a childhood obesity epidemic.

A week ago, PepsiCo said it would drop its PJ’s Smoothies brand only three years after buying the brand.

Paul Moody, chief executive of Britvic, said the trends were driven by consumers’ finances. The company has seen volume sales of Robinsons fruit squash increase by 6.5 per cent in a market that declined by 3.4 per cent.

Mr Moody said: “Consumers really want brands to assure them and Robinsons is a brand that we all drank in our childhoods.”

Britvic's new Drench brand of bottled water increased sales in a market that is falling sharply.

“That’s partly driven by consumer finances, as people are question why they pay when they can get it from the tap for free, and the environmental impact”, Mr Moody said of the wider market for bottled water.

As well concerns over the carbon footprint of water, sales were hit by a poor Summer.

Britvic announced this morning a 14 per cent rise in pre-tax profits to 70.1 million for the year to the end of September. The company said it had continued to see growth in revenue since the end of September, but expects trading to be “pretty tough” in the next quarter.

Shares of Britvic rose 10 per cent or 22.25p to 240.25p in early trading this morning.

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