David Collard has been named as Purity Soft Drinks new chairman effective immediately.
Collard brings extensive leadership experience from across the food and drink sector, most recently as CEO and chair of The Bart Ingredients Company. His track record includes driving strategic growth, leading acquisitions, and expanding retail presence across major UK grocers.
Collard takes on the role from Rooney Anand as he departs Purity Soft Drinks after 13 years.
The business has been experiencing significant levels of community inflation recently, following harsh orange harvests in Brazil and Florida, and the knock-on effects of conflict in Europe and the Middle East.
The manufacturer has sought to recover from this fallout through higher selling prices and, in some cases, reduced product size.
The market driven change has resulted in a fall in demand, with turnover decreasing from £29.9 million in FY 2024 to £27 million in FY 2025. Profit after tax, meanwhile, dropped from £4k to £2.6k.
Operating profit (before exceptionals) for the period was £3.3 million vs £5.6 million in 2024. This was also caused by the fall in sales, combined with additional commodity inflation that was not recovered.
Despite the fall in demand, the directors noted their satisfaction with performance in the latest Companies House filings.
Commenting on his departure, Anand said: “It has been a privilege to be chairman of Purity and for such an extended period of time; guiding the business and supporting the team as it has grown and developed over the years. It’s now time for me to step aside and I wish Jonathan, David and the wider Purity team all the success for the future.”
“I am delighted to be joining Purity Soft Drinks,” added Collard. “The business has a strong heritage, a dynamic team, and a clear ambition for growth. I look forward to working closely with the leadership team, including CEO Jonathan Duffin, and the team at Purity’s majority shareholders Verdane, to help shape the next phase of development.”
Purity Soft Drinks is one of the oldest companies in the UK, having been launched in 1892. The beverage produced started supplying soft drinks by horse drawn dray in and around Wednesbury in the West Midlands where it still operates today. It was acquired in 2021 by equity investor firm, Verdane.
