British Soft Drinks Association elects Britvic’s Paul Graham as president

The British Soft Drinks Association (BSDA) has appointed Britvic managing director Paul Graham as its new president.

The BSDA represents UK producers of soft drinks, including carbonated drinks, still and dilutable drinks, fruit juices and bottled waters. In 2020, Graham was appointed vice president of the trade body.

Graham joined Britvic back in September 2012 and was promoted to his current role as GB managing director in July 2013.

Prior to this, Graham served in a range of commercial roles across all trade channels for United Biscuits and Mars Confectionery.

Graham will succeed Marnie Millard, the chief executive of Nichols, the producer of Vimto. During her time as president, Millard has led a number of initiatives including the BSDA’s role as a founding member of Circularity Scotland, a scheme administrator for Scotland’s deposit return scheme (DRS).

Paul Graham said: “I am delighted to be elected as the new BSDA president. I aim to continue the outstanding work of Marnie and past presidents on making further significant progress on a wide range of soft drinks-related issues, not least helping our partners in the hospitality sector get back on their feet after an extremely challenging year.

“As a founder-member of Circularity Scotland, the BSDA continues to work closely with the Scottish government to develop its DRS, which is currently due to be introduced in 2022, although we are eager to see the Scottish government review this date to help ensure delivery of a well-designed DRS system in Scotland that works for consumers and businesses.”

William Watkins, founder and owner at Radnor Hills, will replace Graham as vice president of the BSDA.