Lilt drink brand to be scrapped after fifty years

Lilt is being scrapped after nearly fifty years and will be rebranded as Fanta Pineapple and Grapefruit.

The soft drink, which is owned by the Coca Cola company, became well known for its adverts offering a “totally tropical taste”.

The 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.

Coca Cola stressed that the drink’s taste would not change.

Launched in 1975, Lilt became a household name in the UK, partly as a result of its unique advertising campaign.

The drink became a feature of popular culture with its Lilt Man parody adverts in the late 1980s, while a decade later it was promoted by two Jamaican women known as the Lilt Ladies.

A spokesman for the Coca Cola company said: “Keen Lilt fans may have spotted a gradual transition as the drink has made its way into the Fanta family over the past few months, with changes to its packaging and logo.

“Some have even hypothesised on social media that Lilt may be becoming part of the Fanta brand, and one even went as far as producing their own news broadcast-style video.”

The firm’s vice-president of commercial development insisted the drink is the same, and simply has a new name.

Martin Attock said: “Our main priority with this announcement is to reassure Lilt’s loyal fanbase that absolutely nothing has changed when it comes to the iconic taste of the drink they know and love.

“It’s still bursting with tangy tropical flavours, it’s just got itself a new name.”

Coca-Cola reduced the number of calories, sugar and artificial sweeteners in the drink between 2008 and 2014 as part of efforts to make healthier products in response to the Government’s Public Health Responsibility Deal.