GSK puts Lucozade and Ribena on the market

It has been confirmed that Lucozade and Ribena are on the market, with analysts predicting the sale of the well loved brands could bring in up to £1 billion.

There has already been plenty of interest in the brands and Sir Andrew Witty, chief executive of parent company GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) said the firm hopes a large drinks company will buy the brands.

In a statement he said: “[We] concluded that the tremendous growth potential of these iconic brands, particularly outside the ‘core’ western markets, could be better leveraged by companies with existing category presence and infrastructure in these regions.”

The pharmaceuticals group will proceed with the sell off if it can attract a high enough price for the brands.

Beecham owned Lucozade and Ribena before its merger with SmithKline in 2000. Lucozade, previously known as Glucozade, was created by Thomas Beecham in 1927, after searching for ways to give sick people a form of energy easy to intake.

Dr Vernon Charley invented Ribena in 1938, on the back of looking to use pure fruit juices for milkshakes. Its name Ribena comes from the Latin word for blackcurrant: ribes nigrum. The drink was given as a source of vitamin C in hospitals, schools and care homes following a government decree during the Second World War.

For the first three months of 2013 worldwide sales of Ribena rose by 2 per cent, while Lucozade sales fell by 2 per cent and by 7 per cent in Europe. GSK recorded that revenues had dropped by 2 per cent to £6.4 billion for the quarter.

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Related news:
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