As a kid I remember Lucozade not just being served to me when I was sick, but also being advertised by John Barnes as a “sports drink”. Well just like how they stopped saying Coca-Cola was medicine, the laws changed to mean that Lucozade had to admit it was a soft-drink.
I actually loved this drink before moving abroad at which time I forgot about it. Then I moved to China and roughly ten years ago started to visit Hong Kong regularly. Hong Kong was of course a British colony and much like Vimto and Ribena the Hongkongers adopted Lucozade. This duly brought on a tradition for me and that was buying a Lucozade and a sandwich upon entering Hong Kong and 7-11.
So, WTF actually is Lucozade? Well trap in and lets get into it!
Table of Contents
What the Lucozade?
It is a British soft-drink that was originally founded as Glucozade in 1927, as a medicine before being sold to actual medicine company Beechams in 1938. Eventually it would be rebranded as Lucozade where it was sold as one orange flavor in a glass bottle. For the longest time it was still sold as being medicinal.
By 1983 it was rebranded as an energy drink/energy replacement drink with it having a bit of a Red Bull type marketing aim. Alas though it did not have any caffeine and was not really an energy drink. Sales between 1983 and 1989 went bat shit crazy and up top 75 million pounds. This was when the notorious John Barnes advert came about (see below).
As things went on the drink became less popular eventually being sold to Suntory in Japan, but it still retains some form of iconic status within the UK and indeed abroad, such as in the aforementioned Hong Kong. And there are now lots of different variants, flavors, still, sparkling and there was once even a coke! I will get to that part later…….
What flavours are there?
Originally it was just the carbonated “original’ drink, but this since been expanded to the behemoth that you see below. The original flavor is sweet and is essentially a glucose with soda flavor combo. The orange flavour of the drink is now so popular that it is almost interchangeable with the original.
It is now available in glass, plastic, still and even in soluble tablet form much like Borocca.
Lucozade Energy
- Original
- Orange
- Wild Cherry
- Wild Berry
- Pink Lemonade
- Apple Blast
- Lemon
- Cloudy Lemon
- Tropical
- Mixed Berry
- Strawberry
- Raspberry Ripple
- Watermelon & Strawberry
- Melonade [30]
- Caribbean Crush
- Brazilian Mango & Mandarin
- Citrus Chill
- Citrus Clear
- Grafruitti
- Pineapple Punch
- Tropical Fusion
- Black Edition Cola
- Blackcurrant [31]
- Blue Burst[32]
Lucozade Zero
- Original
- Orange
- Pink Lemonade
- Tropical
Lucozade Sport
- Orange
- Caribbean Burst
- Brazilian Guava
- Raspberry
- Cherry
- Mango & Passion Fruit
- Fruit Punch
- Low Cal – Orange
- Low Cal – Lemon & Lime
- Blue Force
Lucozade Alert
- Original
- Tropical Burst
- Cherry Blast
- Blue Rush
And what about Lucozade Coke?
Lucozade Cola as it was actually called was something I discovered in Hong Kong in 2019 prior to Covid and when the Hong Kong riots meant a room at the Western Causeway Bay for a Wan Chai Sunday were just 30 dollars.
Alas I thought this was mainstay, but it was just a passing special edition. It was though bloody good and a firm favorite on #ColaQuest not only being a fabulous drink, but going ace with vodka during my Lamma Island days.
In what countries is it available?
According to the Suntory website it is available in 15 countries, including the United Kingdom. Aside here and indeed assuming they do not count the UK as 4 countries we also know that it is in Ireland and Hong Kong (and no that does not count as China).
To read about what counts as a country click here.
Which leads us on to the Isle of Mana and the Channel Islands, two places that McDonalds at least does count as a country. Macao also has the drink, which puts us anywhere from 4 to 10 countries depending on how you do the math. Alas as of now I cannot answer this question, but I will update as and when I can.
Overall
This is, was and shall remain one of my favorite soft drinks both from a nostalgic and indeed contemporary point of view. I still get this the second I get to Hong Kong, or buy in bulk before I head back to China after watching Trump win the election.
Therefore I shall keep championing this drink even if it does not make you a better athlete, as for me at least that ship has very much sailed. And I will do this because good for you, or not it not only holds a nostalgic place for us Brits, but really is quite a refreshing drink.