Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
LOZENGE LEGEND
Woman who made Fisherman’s Friend a global brand dead at 91
IN 1963, Doreen Lofthouse changed a throat lozenge popular with local trawlermen into the shape of a button on her favourite dress, and so began the creation of a global brand.
Doreen, who has died at the age of 91, transformed the Fisherman’s Friend cough sweets, which are now sold in 100 countries by a firm worth an estimated £180million.
Doreen ploughed millions back into Fleetwood, the Lancashire coastal town where the sweets are made.
As tributes poured in, Mary Stirzaker, of Fleetwood Town Council, said: “She was an incredible benefactor for Fleetwood.”
Chemist James Lofthouse produced the first Fisherman’s Friend lozenges in Fleetwood in 1865. When she wed James’ great grandson Tony Lofthouse, Doreen realised the potential of the eucalyptus and menthol sweets, which were being snapped up by holidaymakers on the Fylde Coast.
She took over the firm in 1963 and sold the sweets from a van across the North West. Now more than five billion Fisherman’s Friends are sold every year. Doreen set up The Lofthouse Foundation to fund local projects in Fleetwood, earning an OBE in 2008.
After she and Tony were robbed by a gang at their £2million home, she donated thousands to Lancashire Police to fund a number plate recognition system. In 2019, Doreen, who had become a widow when Tony died in 2018, set aside £30million to pay for future community projects in Fleetwood.
Dick Gillingham, of Fleetwood Museum, said: “She’s taken the name of Fleetwood all over the world and been probably our greatest advert.”