Lucozade

For other uses, see Lucozade (disambiguation).

Lucozade
Lucozade Caribbean Crush
TypeSoft drink
ManufacturerSuntory
Country of origin United Kingdom
Region of originNewcastle upon Tyne
Introduced1927; 97 years ago (1927)
Websitelucozade.com

Lucozade is a British brand of soft drinks and energy drinks manufactured and marketed by the Japanese company Suntory. Created as "Glucozade" in the UK in 1927 by a Newcastle pharmacist, William Walker Hunter[1] (trading as W. Owen & Son),[a] it was acquired by the British pharmaceutical company Beecham's in 1938 and sold as Lucozade, an energy drink for the sick.[1] Its advertising slogan was "Lucozade aids recovery". It was sold mostly in pharmacies up until the 1980s before it was more readily available as a sports drink in shops across the UK.

A glucose and water solution, the product was sold until 1983 as a carbonated, slightly orange-flavoured drink in a glass bottle wrapped in cellophane.[3] Pharmacists sold it, children were given it when ill, and hospital visitors would regularly arrive with a bottle.[4][5][b] It was rebranded in 1978 as a "pick me up",[5] and as a sports drink in 1983, to associate it with health rather than sickness. The company switched to a plastic bottle and introduced a range of flavours.[3][9] As of 2016, a 500 ml bottle contained 62 g (15.5 cubes) of sugar, more than Coca-Cola.[10] In 2017, to avoid sugar tax, the drink was reformulated to contain 22.5 g of sugar per 500 ml of liquid,[11] as well as the artificial sweeteners aspartame and acesulfame K. In 2023, it was reformulated again. It still contains the same amount of sugar, but aspartame was swapped out for sucralose.[12][13]

The UK’s No. 1 energy drink, it has been exported to Asia and Australasia.[14] In 1989, the Beecham Group merged to form SmithKline Beecham, which further merged in 2000 to form GlaxoSmithKline. In September 2013, GlaxoSmithKline sold Lucozade and another soft drink, Ribena, to the Japanese drinks conglomerate Suntory for £1.35 billion.[15]

  1. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference Northern was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference CTD was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ a b Blythe, Jim (2013). Consumer Behaviour. SAGE. p. 404. ISBN 9781446290323.
  4. ^ Delingpole, James (4 May 2017). "Thanks, Jamie Oliver – you've stolen my childhood". The Spectator. Retrieved 2 March 2020.
  5. ^ a b Taylor, David (2007). Brand Vision: How to Energize Your Team to Drive Business Growth. John Wiley & Sons. p. 182. ISBN 9780470060940.
  6. ^ Khan, Almas (2011). Poppadom Preach. Simon and Schuster, 21.
  7. ^ Willocks, James; Barr, Wallace (2004). Ian Donald: A Memoir. RCOG. p. 55. ISBN 9781904752004.
  8. ^ Townsend, Sue (2009). The Lost Diaries of Adrian Mole, 1999-2001. Penguin UK, 70.
  9. ^ Donovan, Tristan (2013). Fizz: How Soda Shook Up the World. Chicago Review Press. p. 215. ISBN 9781613747254.
  10. ^ Cite error: The named reference Campbell7May2016 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  11. ^ Cave, Andrew (30 October 2017). "Lucozade Ribena Suntory boss: 'Our drinks can be fuel for healthier living'". The Telegraph. Retrieved 2 March 2020.
  12. ^ "Lucozade Energy - Orange 24 x 380ml » Lucozade". www.lucozade.com. Retrieved 7 August 2023.
  13. ^ Beeson2023-08-04T12:14:00+01:00, James. "Lucozade Energy gets 'more zingy' reformulation". The Grocer. Retrieved 7 August 2023.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  14. ^ Case Studies in Marketing. Pearson Education India. 2011. p. 21.
  15. ^ Monaghan, Angela. "Ribena and Lucozade sold to Japanese drinks giant", The Guardian, 9 September 2013.


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