Pickle juice is emerging as a surprising contender for the season’s popular beverage, gaining traction in supermarkets, bars, and gyms across the UK. Once a niche product, the vinegary brine traditionally used for pickling cucumbers has drawn interest from consumers, athletes, and celebrities alike due to its unique flavor and reported health benefits.
Florence Cherruault, founder of The Pickle House, encountered the drink over a decade ago at a New York bar and has since built a business around the briny liquid. After returning to London in 2014, she began producing pickle juice in small batches, eventually moving production to Suffolk to focus on creating a signature blend infused for 12 weeks with apple cider vinegar, cucumber, turmeric, fennel, and botanicals. The product serves both as a standalone shot and a cocktail ingredient, featuring in drinks like picklebacks, martinis, and seltzers.
The brand recently secured a milestone deal to stock its pickle juice in 192 Waitrose stores, starting July 12. This comes amid a growing consumer appetite for tangy and sour flavors, with the supermarket reporting an 83% year-on-year increase in pickle-related searches. Waitrose’s Trend Innovation Manager, Lizzie Haywood, noted that pickles are no longer confined to traditional uses such as sandwich fillings but are now embraced in snacks, side dishes, and increasingly in beverages and cocktails.
The Pickle House’s growth received a boost when tennis player Carlos Alcaraz was spotted drinking pickle juice during the semi-final of the 2024 French Open, crediting it with helping alleviate muscle cramps as he advanced to win the title. The drink has been shown to help relieve cramps through a mouth reflex that signals muscle relaxation and the replenishment of sodium lost during exertion. This functional benefit has led to partnerships with fitness centers, including the introduction of pickle juice shots in Third Space gyms.
Other companies are capitalizing on the trend as well. Yew, a soft drinks brand co-founded by Jesse Jenkins and Francesca Zampi, is preparing to launch a zero-calorie sparkling pickle water in the UK, with an initial release in Planet Organic stores on July 1 and Ocado availability in August. Jenkins highlighted the novelty factor of pickle-flavored beverages, noting their popularity in the United States, particularly among fans of Mexican briny drinks.
The beverage's profile was raised earlier this year when singer Dua Lipa shared a viral recipe mixing Diet Coke, pickle juice, and jalapeños. She also collaborated with Nespresso on a "pickled coffee cola" pop-up in London, further driving interest in pickle-based drink innovations.
With interest spanning health-conscious consumers, cocktail enthusiasts, and social media influencers, pickle juice shows potential to become a notable fixture in the summer’s drink lineup, with producers aiming to position it alongside established favorites such as Pimm’s and Negroni.