VAT on smoothies - Are smoothies considered as beverages as per the UK legislations

Dear Sir/Madam, Good afternoon. Can you please clarify if the smoothies such as below example are classed as beverages and therefore payable VAT applies? Product example: ' Strawberry smoothie' 1L packed in Carton sold in retail. Ingredients: strawberry puree, sugar, water, natural strawberry flavour, concentrated aronia juice, acid: citric acid. Contains 48% of strawberry pure. Direction for use: shake well before use, pure over ice, blend well and serve. Thank you. Kind regards, Milena

Useful starting point here https://www.gov.uk/hmrc-internal-manuals/vat-food/vfood7600 and there are a couple of case law examples to dwell on. If you are buying this product from a wholesaler/manufacturer for sale in your own shop, then the VAT treatment from the seller is probably a good indication of the VAT treatment, although not always a guarantee of accuracy. This forum is unlikely to give you a definitive answer as the VAT treatment will depend on a multi-factorial approach - which means how the product is held out for sale (is it on the fruit juice aisle or sold alongside chilled soft drinks), marketing (does the labelling indicate the product is healthy, used for cooking or for drinking), ingredients, how the product is to be consumed (in a glass, on the move/on the go, etc).....although it does sound very similar to an Innocent Smoothie drink/beverage, which is mentioned in the above guidance/link. So for a definitive reply you would need to submit a non-statutory clearance to HMRC, whereby you write to HMRC and explain why you are uncertain as to the VAT status of the product and then provide as much detail as possible (photos of the product, where it would be displayed, etc) and then HMRC will have sufficient information to give their view. Link on how to subit a non-statutory clearance here : https://www.gov.uk/guidance/non-statutory-clearance-service-guidance