Consuming fruit juice/smoothies could help overcome barriers to fruit and vegetable (F&V) intake. However, their contribution towards F&V intake within a healthy diet is contentious. We investigated how F&V intake is affected by UK 5-a-day advice, with and without one portion/d of fruit juice/smoothies and explored how these interventions impacted markers of health. Healthy individuals (n 42) with low F&V intake (≤ 2 servings/d) completed a 4-week, parallel-group randomised controlled trial (ClinicalTrials.gov ID: NCT06628401). Participants were randomised to (1) control, (2) whole F&V (FV) or (3) whole F&V plus fruit juice/smoothies (FV + FJ). All groups received weekly financial support (to remove financial barriers to F&V purchase in the intervention groups). FV and FV + FJ also received a co-designed educational booklet. We investigated the intervention effects on self-reported F&V intake (primary outcome), biomarkers of intake and metabolism, mood, gut symptoms and acceptability. Post-intervention F&V intake differed between groups (P < 0·001; ηp2 = 0·62). It was significantly higher in FV ((estimated marginal means (se)); 8·9 (0·64) portions/d, P < 0·001) and FV + FJ (6·6 (0·64), P < 0·001) v. control (2·45 (0·64)), but there was no difference between FV and FV + FJ (P = 0·051). Both interventions showed good acceptability. Depression symptoms differed between groups (P = 0·01; ηp2 = 0·21); they were significantly lower in FV + FJ than control. There were no differences in anxiety or gut symptoms, nor in intake or metabolic biomarkers. A financial and educational intervention based on UK 5-a-day recommendations, with or without fruit juice/smoothies, significantly increased short-term F&V intake and benefited mood without adversely impacting health markers in the short-term. Funder: Fruit Juice Science Centre.