The changes are part of the preparations underway in the fizzy drinks business for the sugar tax. The cost of some “price marked packs” of Coca-Cola sold in newsagents and convenience stores will increase by more than 10 percent in March, just before the new tax comes into effect the following month.

The plans will see a 1.75 litre bottle of Coke shrink to 1.5 litres and at the same time increase in price by 20p to £1.99. The price of a 500ml bottle is also increasing, from £1.09 to £1.25. The new price means the cost of a half-litre bottle will have soared 25 percent in a matter of months, as they were just £1 until last autumn.

“We have no plans to change the recipe of Coca-Cola Classic so it will be impacted by the government’s soft drinks tax,” said a spokesman for Coca-Cola European Partners, which is the bottler for Coca-Cola products in western Europe. “People love the taste ... and have told us not to change.”

AG Barr, the makers of Irn-Bru, have taken the opposite decision and will start bottling a new version of the drink which outsells Coke and Pepsi in Scotland and famously claimed to be “made in Scotland from girders.”

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