For the past five decades, Lilt – renowned for its “truly tropical taste” and promotional campaigns – has been a popular household name in the United Kingdom. However, it is now undergoing a comprehensive revamping and rebranding process. Starting Tuesday, the Coca-Cola Company has said that Lilt will now be known as Fanta Pineapple & Grapefruit instead.

Established in 1975, Lilt quickly rose to fame across the UK due to its compelling advertising campaigns. The late 1980s saw the introduction of the now iconic “Lilt Man” ad campaign, which parodied a milkman delivering Lilt in an exotic beach setting on his “Lilt Float”. This was followed up by ads featuring two Jamaican women: Blanche Williams and Hazel Palmer – famously known as the jocularly nicknamed “Lilt Ladies” in the 1990’s.

Transforming Lilt’s Appearance

The Coca-Cola Company, who possess a plethora of beverage brands across the globe, guaranteed that both ingredients and flavour in Lilt would remain unchanged while it was renaming to its new title ‘Fanta Pineapple & Grapefruit’ on February 14th.

Although the announcement about Lilt’s closure has left many of us feeling a sense of sorrow, which is of no surprise;  as for the past 50 years, this beloved brand has been embedded into our culture and memories. Our childhoods have involved Lilt in one way or another, making the news even harder to take.

How Have The Public Responded?

Twitter users were quick to voice their dissatisfaction, with one person tweeting “farewell to lilt. For some completely pointless reason they are rebranding it… apparently nothing is allowed to be different these days”.

It appears that some individuals perceive this as another illustration of how corporate conglomerates are taking away something exclusive and treasured by buyers—a similar emotion articulated by other Twitter users who conveyed equivalent remarks regarding missing Lilt.

@bullsnosenews Lilt drink gets rebranded #fyp #lilt #fanta #fantapineappleandgrapefruit #cocacola #liltdrink #fizzydrink #pop #soda #fan #drink #softdrink #capitalist #corporation #uk #britain #british #Humour #england #englandtiktok #speaking #cocacolachallenge #foru #foryou #foryoupage #joke #parody #BNN #BullsNoseNews #satire #satirenews #satirecomedy #comedy #greenscreen #greenscreenvideo #satireaccount ♬ original sound – Bulls Nose News

How Did Coca-Cola Respond?

Following fans’ displeasures, Coca-Cola issued a statement expressing their understanding of the sentimental connection to Lilt. Still, they are confident that Fanta Pineapple & Grapefruit will be much more enjoyable and surpass expectations in flavour. In addition, they made it abundantly clear that their customers can still have their beloved tastes of the past as the name changes only, and no other features of the product will be altered.

They also noted that Lilt was exclusively available in a select few countries outside the UK, such as Ireland, Gibraltar and the Seychelles.

Conclusion

It seems that a considerable number of customers are unwilling to part with Lilt anytime soon! People have a strong emotional connection to this product because of their positive experiences during childhood, making it hard for them to welcome changes in branding – even if there are no differences regarding flavour or components.

Let’s wait and see if Coca-Cola successfully manages to increase their sales figures with this move, regardless of the online backlash from fans and sadly, no longer seeing the beloved  and much wanted ‘Lilt’ bottles on store shelves. Here’s to wishing Fanta Pineapple & Grapefruit will match the success of its predecessor!