Lilt brand scrapped after nearly 50 years – with drink to be renamed

Lilt is being axed after nearly 50 years and will be rebranded as Fanta Pineapple and Grapefruit.

The drink is famous for offering a “totally tropical taste”, with one well-known 1988 advert showing the “Lilt man” delivering cans on a sun-kissed beach.

“The Lilt ladies”, played by two Jamaican women, became the face of the brand in the 1990s.

The Coca-Cola Company said the drink will use the same formula when it becomes Fanta – with the first cans and bottles appearing in shops from 14 February.

Coke executive Martin Attock told The Grocer he wanted to reassure fans “absolutely nothing has changed when it comes to the iconic taste”.

The company recently hinted at the move when the label design changed to bring it in line with the Fanta style.

Fizzy drink fans of a certain age have been mourning the loss of the drink, which first launched in the UK in 1975.

One Twitter user wrote: “When I first came to England as a teenager in the late 80s, Lilt was one of my top 3 English food things with Salt and Vinegar Crisps and Salad Cream. RIP.”

Another said: “I’m not sure I want to live in a world where Lilt, the totally tropical experience, no longer exists.”

Others on social media were surprised it was still available – and some said it was decades since they sampled the drink’s tropical delights.

“I wish I could remember the last time I had a Lilt, just so I could be outraged about it being discontinued,” a tweet read.