# Coca Cola in Britain **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** soda-softdrinks\ **Created:** [September 4, 2012, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coca-cola-in-britain/633660 "2012-09-04T17:59:32Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2012, 11:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coca-cola-in-britain/633660/21 "2012-09-05T11:11:24Z")
'70s in Spain, Fanta was popular but Coke was their “poor sister”, to the point where many small-town bars had Fantas (or Mirindas, their biggest competition) but not Coke or Pepsi. More cosmopolitan areas were more likely to have “black” sodas, and the default soda was _gaseosa_, with La Casera as the brand you could find anywhere and other brands being sold only locally. ---
**Author:** ![njtt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ecd19e/32.png) [@njtt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/njtt)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2012, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coca-cola-in-britain/633660/22 "2012-09-05T15:34:33Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > What, if anything else, does Tizer taste like? 😕 I had some a few months ago and it was almost like fruit punch. However, that is not how I remember it being when I was a kid (and when it was a lot more widely sold than it seems to be now). Maybe it is just my memory playing tricks, but, as I remember it, back then it had a drier, more bitter flavour combined with the fruityness. Also, it now seems to be red in colour, whereas the Tizer I remember was a sort of deep reddish orange (though nothing like the orange or actual oranges, or orange pop). ---
**Author:** ![amanset](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8dc957/32.png) [@amanset](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amanset)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2012, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coca-cola-in-britain/633660/23 "2012-09-05T15:44:30Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > I lived in Britain during the '70s, and the only soft drinks I recall (besides Coke and Pepsi) were European sodas like Orangina, plus Schweppes beverages like Tonic Water. In the UK in the late 70s/very early 80s my parents used to get carbonated drinks, in glass bottles, delivered much like milk was. From what I remember we didn’t get any form of cola. We moved from that house in 1982 (I was born in 1974) by which time my mother had stopped ordering as she’d had some weird dispute with the delivery guy. I can’t for the life of me remember the name of the make. Oh and this was a small town - it wasn’t a big city thing. ---
**Author:** ![amanset](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8dc957/32.png) [@amanset](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amanset)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2012, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coca-cola-in-britain/633660/24 "2012-09-05T15:47:48Z")
> [@amanset](#): > > In the UK in the late 70s/very early 80s my parents used to get carbonated drinks, in glass bottles, delivered much like milk was. From what I remember we didn’t get any form of cola. We moved from that house in 1982 (I was born in 1974) by which time my mother had stopped ordering as she’d had some weird dispute with the delivery guy. > > I can’t for the life of me remember the name of the make. > > Oh and this was a small town - it wasn’t a big city thing. Corona! > **[Corona (soft drink)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corona_(soft_drink))** > > Corona was a brand of carbonated soft drink produced by Thomas & Evans Ltd in South Wales, and distributed across the United Kingdom. The firm was created by grocers William Thomas and William Evans when they saw a market for soft drinks caused by the growing influence of the temperance movement. The company's first factory was based in Porth, Rhondda, eventually expanding to 87 depots and factories throughout Britain. Corona was sold to the Beecham Group in 1958 and subsequently to Britvic, Wi... > [@](#): > > Corona was a brand of carbonated beverage available in the United Kingdom and produced by Corona Soft Drinks. The firm was created by Rhondda grocers William Thomas and William Evans when they saw a market for soft drinks caused by the growing influence of the temperance movement in South Wales. The company’s first factory was based in Porth, and eventually the company had 87 depots > > … > > It was particularly popular during the 1970s and was famous for delivering its product door to door by “the Corona Man”, much like a milk round. The drink was available in several flavours, including the original orangeade and later lemonade, limeade and cherryade ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2012, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coca-cola-in-britain/633660/25 "2012-09-05T16:19:42Z")
> [@njtt](#): > > Maybe it is just my memory playing tricks, but, as I remember it, back then it had a drier, more bitter flavour combined with the fruityness. This isn’t unusual: most pop formulas changed (and not for the better) back in the ‘70s when they about doubled the sugar content. This may have had something to do with Westerners’ sucrose addiction (read _Sugar Blues_ by William Dufty sometime), or with the switchover to high-fructose corn syrup, or probably with both. I remember the Seven-Up of my childhood having a smooth, almost creamy taste, rather than the sharp citrus bite it has today. It was the only brand of soda pop my dad ever kept at home. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2012, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coca-cola-in-britain/633660/26 "2012-09-05T16:27:45Z")
> [@Lust4Life](#): > > Has Coca Cola ever indulged in covert marketing ? > > Just thought that I’d ask, seems pointless starting a new thread on the subject. Covert marketing with respect to…? 😕 ---
**Author:** ![amanset](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8dc957/32.png) [@amanset](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amanset)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2012, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coca-cola-in-britain/633660/27 "2012-09-05T16:39:32Z")
> [@njtt](#): > > I had some a few months ago and it was almost like fruit punch. However, that is not how I remember it being when I was a kid (and when it was a lot more widely sold than it seems to be now). Maybe it is just my memory playing tricks, but, as I remember it, back then it had a drier, more bitter flavour combined with the fruityness. Also, it now seems to be red in colour, whereas the Tizer I remember was a sort of deep reddish orange (though nothing like the orange or actual oranges, or orange pop). They’ve been playing about with the recipe. How long ago were you “a kid”? There have been non-trad-Tizer Tizers since 1995. Maybe you were more used to one of those? > **[Tizer](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tizer)** > > Tizer is a red-coloured, citrus-flavoured soft drink bottled and sold in the UK. The name originally comes from the original name, "Pickup's Appetiser". It was launched in 1924 by Fred and Tom Pickup of Birtle, Bury when it was known as "Pickup's Appetiser". > After the death of the Pickup brothers it was owned by the Armour Trust before being sold to the Scottish drinks company A.G. Barr plc for £2.5 million in 1972. As is the case with Barr's other famous drink Irn-Bru, Tizer's exact recipe h... Edit: Just re-read the thread and saw that you were a kid in the 50s/60s. Ignore me … 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2012, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coca-cola-in-britain/633660/28 "2012-09-05T17:43:47Z")
There was a mid-1980s movie called [The Coca Cola Kid](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0088931/), which involved a hotshot marketing executive trying to figure out why people in a small area in Australia weren’t drinking Coke. Unfortunately all I can remember about the film after all these years is the luscious and adorable [Greta Scacchi.](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000627/) ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2012, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coca-cola-in-britain/633660/29 "2012-09-05T18:00:03Z")
Not in the right time period, but… _One, Two, Three_ is a comedy with Jimmy Cagney as Coca Cola’s chief salesman in Berlin. ---
**Author:** ![WotNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e19b73/32.png) [@WotNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WotNot)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2012, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coca-cola-in-britain/633660/30 "2012-09-05T18:34:45Z")
> [@glaeken](#): > > Also things like R. White’s Lemonade were really big in the 70’s and 80’s in the UK. In fact the below advert became a bit of cult hit. > > [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hro4AdTYiTA](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hro4AdTYiTA) Actually, that’s exactly what I was thinking of when I mentioned regional brands, earlier. I’ve only ever seen that ad on those nostalgia TV programmes – it was never broadcast here in the North East, because R White’s lemonade wasn’t sold here. > [@amanset](#): > > Corona! > > [Corona (soft drink) - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corona_(soft_drink)) It may have been, but other companies delivered, too. We had pop delivered by two different companies when I was a kid: one was the Co-op, and the other I can’t remember, but I don’t think it was Corona. ---
**Author:** ![Hogfather65](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/7bcc69/32.png) [@Hogfather65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hogfather65)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2012, 8:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coca-cola-in-britain/633660/31 "2012-09-06T08:23:43Z")
Alpine, Dunns, Garvies all delivered to the door in Glasgow ---
**Author:** ![notquitekarpov](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/71c47a/32.png) [@notquitekarpov](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/notquitekarpov)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2012, 12:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coca-cola-in-britain/633660/32 "2012-09-06T12:30:36Z")
I believe Scotland, with their Irn Bru, is the only country where the local carbonated soft drink sells more than either coke or pepsi. Don’t care for it myself but tastes more like cream soda than anything else to me. ---
**Author:** ![Hogfather65](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/7bcc69/32.png) [@Hogfather65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hogfather65)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2012, 12:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coca-cola-in-britain/633660/33 "2012-09-06T12:34:52Z")
True and it was recognised in the Irn Bru ad - Barrs Irn Bru - your other National Drink ---
**Author:** ![Hogfather65](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/7bcc69/32.png) [@Hogfather65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hogfather65)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2012, 12:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coca-cola-in-britain/633660/34 "2012-09-06T12:38:22Z")
the history of [Iron Brew or Irn Bru](https://adhistory.wikispaces.com/Irn-Bru) ---
**Author:** ![amanset](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8dc957/32.png) [@amanset](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amanset)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2012, 12:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coca-cola-in-britain/633660/35 "2012-09-06T12:40:43Z")
> [@notquitekarpov](#): > > I believe Scotland, with their Irn Bru, is the only country where the local carbonated soft drink sells more than either coke or pepsi. > > Don’t care for it myself but tastes more like cream soda than anything else to me. Sweden has a seasonal thing like that. For eleven months of the year it is all about Coke, but then come December everyone switches to a local carbonated beverage called Julmust. I am told that there is significant opposition to Coke come December time due to marketing strategies the Coca Cola company has used to try and beat Julmust, but frankly I can’t remember much about that. As a half-Scot, I love Irn Bru. Always a joy to get hold of some of that when I go back to the UK (although I can buy it in a single import shop in Stockholm …) ---
**Author:** ![Hogfather65](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/7bcc69/32.png) [@Hogfather65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hogfather65)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2012, 12:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coca-cola-in-britain/633660/36 "2012-09-06T12:51:30Z")
Got a bottle on my desk now 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![amanset](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8dc957/32.png) [@amanset](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amanset)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2012, 1:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coca-cola-in-britain/633660/37 "2012-09-06T13:04:46Z")
> [@Hogfather65](#): > > Got a bottle on my desk now 🙂 I hate you. ---
**Author:** ![Hogfather65](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/7bcc69/32.png) [@Hogfather65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hogfather65)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2012, 1:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coca-cola-in-britain/633660/38 "2012-09-06T13:06:40Z")
Mind you I do drink a lot of it - approx 3 ltrs a day 🙂 love the stuff - Hate/Love - fine line 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Oswald\_Bastable](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/oswald_bastable/32/214_2.png) [@Oswald\_Bastable](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oswald_Bastable)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2012, 1:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coca-cola-in-britain/633660/39 "2012-09-06T13:18:04Z")
> [@notquitekarpov](#): > > I believe Scotland, with their Irn Bru, is the only country where the local carbonated soft drink sells more than either coke or pepsi. > > Don’t care for it myself but tastes more like cream soda than anything else to me. I think Inca Kola still outsells Coca Cola in Peru, although as they’re at least part owned by Coca Cola I’m not sure it counts. Coincidentally, Inca Kola isn’t really a cola type drink - to me it seems very similar in flavour to Irn Bru, except bright yellow rather than bright orange… OB ---
**Author:** ![Floater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/dc4da7/32.png) [@Floater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Floater)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2012, 1:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coca-cola-in-britain/633660/40 "2012-09-06T13:48:09Z")
> [@amanset](#): > > Sweden has a seasonal thing like that. For eleven months of the year it is all about Coke, but then come December everyone\*\*(\*)\*\* switches to a local carbonated beverage called Julmust. I am told that there is significant opposition to Coke come December time due to marketing strategies the Coca Cola company has used to try and beat Julmust, but frankly I can’t remember much about that. **(\*)** Count me out, please! Julmust and påskmust (the same stuff sold at Easter) is a vile misuse of malted barley that could have been used to make a good beer. My opinion about people drinking the stuff is that they do it out of tradition, totally disregarding whatever qualities it has (or has not). > [@amanset](#): > > As a half-Scot, I love Irn Bru. Always a joy to get hold of some of that when I go back to the UK (although I can buy it in a single import shop in Stockholm …) I have tasted it once and I must quote what a German colleague said about [cloudberries](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cloudberry): “I leave it to those that understand how to appreciate it”. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coca-cola-in-britain/633660.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coca-cola-in-britain/633660.md?page=3)