Popular soft drink invented a century ago
MOST people know the story of Vimto and how it was created in Manchester more than 100 years ago.
The vitamin tonic drink was created on Granby Row in 1908 by Blackburnborn herbs, spices and medicines dealer, Noel Nichols, as a heath drink – and to cash in on the temperance movement.
But what is less widely recognised is that Tizer was also invented here as well. Its name is an abbreviation of ‘appetizer’, and was first released by Manchester drink innovators Fred and Tom Pickup in 1924.
Fred Pickup grew up in Heywood and attended St Michael’s School in Bamford. At the turn of the 20th century, he went into business in Yorkshire starting Pickup’s Mineral Waters.
As the company expanded he returned to Manchester, and in 1924, he developed the formula for what would become Tizer.
Originally sold as Pickup’s Appetizer, the brothers started off selling the drink contained in stone jars from handcarts, which Fred himself trudged through the streets of Manchester.
It soon became a children’s favourite but the name was a bit of a tonguetwister with many kids shortening it to its last two syllables, ‘Tizer’, and the name stuck.
One of the unique aspects of Tizer, as well as its secretly-kept formula, was in its design. The drink came in a glass bottle design known affectionally as ‘Bosomy Betsy’ thanks to its unique curves.
While sales of the red fizzy pop drink continued to grow in the mid-20th century, with profits of around £600,000 in 1961, by the early ‘70s these had significantly diminished. Following the death of the brothers, the firm was eventually sold to Scottish drinks company AG Barr for £2.5 million in 1972.
AG Barr had a good pedigree when it came to fizzy ‘pop’ with their famous Irn Bru beverage.
The Manchester Evening News reported months of “detective work” were undertaken by the boffins at AG Barr to restore Tizer to its original formula, but the new owners said they were forced to drop the ‘Bosomy Betsy’ glass after manufacturers said they could no longer supply the bottles.
The curvy bottle design made a comeback in 1981.
Over the years, Tizer has seen redesigns in terms of branding and new variations on the original recipe. Tizer Ice was launched in the late ‘90s.
The drink contained menthol, giving it a cold, bracing sensation, even at room temperature.
It was later branded ‘Ice by Tizer’ but poor sales saw the drink discontinued.
A number of low-calorie, sugar free versions of the drink were sold in the late 1980s and again in the late ‘90s.
In 2003, AG Barr decided to sell other flavours of Tizer including ‘Purple’ and
‘Green’ versions. There was also a brief ‘Fruitz’ version of Tizer in 2004.
In 2007, the classic drink was relaunched based on the original 1924 recipe with fewer additives and no E-numbers while adding real fruit juice. However some flavourings and sweeteners have since returned.
In 2011, Tizer was rebranded with the slogan “The Great British Pop”.
Despite the changes to the drink over the years, Tizer has remained a firm favourite with fizzy ‘pop’ lovers.
In the 1990s, Tizer even had its own fan club which was advertised in the pages of teen magazines such as Smash Hits and cost £3 to join.
Tizer Club members would receive a membership card and merchandise including stickers, a folder and Tizer branded sunglasses. The fan club was discontinued around 1993.
The drink itself has always had something of a cult status and has even appeared in the lyrics of pop songs.
Tizer is mentioned by Elvis Costello in his 1983 song ‘Party, Party’ and by Morrissey in his 1991 song ‘King Leer’.
The drink is also mentioned in the chorus of the 1991 song ‘Fellow Hoodlums’ by Scottish band Deacon Blue.
Recently, it was reported that AG Barr – the makers of Tizer – would be cutting 195 jobs across their business. It was reported in Business Live that this could potentially lead to the closure of operations in a number a sites across the country, including Moston in Manchester.