Mother Root is UK’s fastest-growing drinks company
Non-alcoholic ‘spirits’ brand Mother Root is the fastest-growing private drinks company in the UK, according to the 2026 edition of The Sunday Times 100.
Published by The Sunday Times on 5 June, the list ranks independent, privately owned and UK-headquartered companies with sales between £5 million (US$6.7m) and £250m (US$334.5m) in their latest year of trading.
Companies must also have four years of accounts, with sales growth measured by compound annual growth rate (CAGR) over the latest three financial years; annualised sales that exceed £250,000 (US$334,530) in the base year, and not show a drop from the penultimate to the latest year; and be in profit (operating) in their latest year.
With sales of £7.2m (US$9.6m) and a three-year CAGR of 206.5%, Mother Root placed at number 11 in The Sunday Times 100 2026, and was the highest-ranking drinks company on the list.
Only two other drinks brands feature in the top 100: Jeremy Clarkson’s Hawkstone (24th), and canned functional drink brand Trip (75th).
Meanwhile restaurant and bar operator Thesleff Group, which owns The Spirits Business Awards’ Bar of the Year 2025, Viajante 87, ranked as the 92nd fastest-growing UK company.
Bethan Higson founded Mother Root in 2018. From the start, the brand’s focus was on direct-to-consumer sales.
Securing listings in UK grocery retail outlets was a secondary priority, and 18 months ago the brand began securing shelf space in supermarkets.
It is now listed in Ocado, Waitrose, Sainsbury’s and Tesco. It became the UK’s top-selling non-alcoholic ‘spirit’ SKU in total grocery within 12 months of launch, according to Nielsen data.
The brand notes that it is profitable and ‘growing rapidly’, scaling between two and three times year on year. It is aiming to achieve sales of £50m (US$66.9m) within two years.
Mother Root launched in the US in November 2025. The brand has since ‘significantly outperformed management expectations’, with sales across the States already accounting for one-third of group turnover.
However, the brand says this is ‘unsurprising’ on account of the US being one of the fastest-growing non-alcoholic beverage markets in the world, with non-alcoholic ‘spirits’ expected to grow by 18% volume CAGR between 2024 and 2028.
Mother Root appeared on Dragons’ Den last year, and witnessed a 2,000% sales leap in the days following the show airing on the BBC.
It was subsequently named a brand to watch in 2026 in our World Spirits Report.
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