Lilt brand axed after nearly 50 years
It will be rebranded as Fanta
Last updated 14th Feb 2023
It's been a well-known totally tropical taste for 48 years, but now the soft drink Lilt has been pulled from UK shops. It will be replaced by a new type of Fanta.
The drink was first sold in 1975 with the strapline “The Totally Tropical Taste” and was only sold in the UK, Ireland, Gibraltar and the Seychelles.
Coca-Cola Europacific Partners (CCEP) confirmed that while the drink itself will continue, it will be known as Fanta Pineapple and Grapefruit with the drink’s packaging and logo being changed.
CCEP 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 GB vice-president of commercial development insisted the drink is the same, and simply has a new name.
There has already been a petition started to stop the re-brand, although at time of writing, it only had four signatures.
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.”
Lilt 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.
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