Tycoon made lozenge into iconic brand across world

TRIBUTES have been paid to Fishermen’s Friend tycoon Doreen Lofthouse, who transformed the famous lozenge into a household name, after her death at 91, writes Ashley Pemberton.

Mrs Lofthouse, pictured, died after more than 50 years at the helm of the iconic company.

Her entrepreneurial spirit saw the small family business, based in Fleetwood, Lancashire, become a global brand when she took it over in 1963.

Mrs Lofthouse had been a key figure in the company and in her hometown.

She set up The Lofthouse Foundation to fund community projects, including improvements to the town’s promenade, Mount Pavilion, playgrounds and hospital.

Mrs Lofthouse also donated a replacement for the town’s landmark Eros statue after the original was damaged by sea air and salty water.

And in 2019, Mrs Lofthouse and her family set aside £30 million to help fund future community projects in her beloved seaside town.

Local dignitaries have led the tributes to the woman whose affection and loyalty for the town and its people led to some referring to her as the Mother of Fleetwood.

Damian Kitchen, Superintendent at Lancashire Police, tweeted: “Mrs Lofthouse gave hundreds of thousands of pounds to the Lancashire Police ANPR development project in 2009 following being a victim of a horrendous robbery.

“What a great legacy of safety and protection she leaves. RIP Doreen.”

Town councillor Cheryl Raynor said: “She was one of those people I can’t imagine not being here. An integral part of our communities and did so much for our town.”

Fishermen’s Friend was first developed in 1865 by James Lofthouse, a pharmacist from the port town.

He came up with the idea after a conversation with three deep-sea fishermen who could barely speak because of a croaky throat.

The next day he presented the three fishermen with a mixture of liquorice, eucalyptus and menthol – carefully packed into three small bottles.

The syrup worked, but bottles often broke on the rough seas so James thickened the medicine and made little lozenges out of it.

Originally sold in the local Lofthouse Chemist shop, Fisherman’s Friend now produces more than five billion lozenges annually in the Fleetwood factory.

The lozenge is sold in more than 100 countries around the world.

In the late 1960s, with Mrs Lofthouse and her late husband Tony at the helm, the firm realised there was a big demand for the product among holidaymakers to the town.

They started selling them to shops in surrounding towns in the North West from their van.

As the demand increased, packaging of Fisherman’s Friend moved to a newly converted tram house and in 1974, the product started to be exported to Belgium and Norway.

The aniseed flavour was launched in 1977 and the product began producing its sugar-free mints in 1979.

In 1983, it was given the royal seal of approval when it was awarded the Queen’s Award For Exports.

Mrs Lofthouse became only the third person to receive the freedom of the borough, in 2003.

David Pearce, chairman of the Jacinta Charitable Trust and former local journalist, said: “I first met the Lofthouse family more than 60 years ago when her later husband Tony and I were pals at school.

“Later in life as a local journalist I wrote about the success of the Fisherman’s Friend brand, developed by Doreen.

“She had great business ability and shrewd acumen.

“The Lofthouses backed various community projects in Fleetwood which I was a part of, like the celebrations for Fleetwood’s 150th birthday and the Jacinta heritage trawler project.

“They used money for their very successful business in an attempt to make Fleetwood a more attractive place for people who lived there and visitors.

“But by building their company they did something else very important – they created jobs in a town where work can be hard to find.”