Horlicks

A mug of Horlicks

Horlicks is a malted milk hot drink

developed by founders James & William
Horlick. It was first sold as "Horlick's Infant
and Invalids Food," soon adding "aged and
travelers" to their label. In the early 20th
century it was sold as a powdered meal
replacement drink mix. It is now marketed
as a nutritional supplement and
manufactured by GlaxoSmithKline
(Consumer Healthcare) in the United
Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Hong
Kong, Bangladesh, India, and Jamaica.

Alternative word usage

"Horlicks" is usually taken to be a
substitute for the profanity "bollocks". This
use was exploited by the company in a
1990s advertising campaign, in which a
harassed housewife exclaims "Horlicks" in
a context where a stronger term could
have been expected, thus widening the
term's exposure and usage for a while.

This substitution in the form of a singular

noun is also used to refer to a minor
disaster or shambles, as in "to make a
complete horlicks of something".[1] For
example, the term was used in July 2003
by British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw ("a
complete horlicks"[2]) to describe
irregularities in the preparation and
provenance of a dossier regarding
weapons of mass destruction in Iraq.
The term was also used in the UK
Parliament in a Brexit discussion on 2017-
12-05. More recently (March 2018), former
deputy PM Michael Heseltine, criticizing
Ms. May's poor management of Brexit
issues, declared to the Observer: "...we
have made a complete Horlicks of the Irish
border."[3]

Ingredients
The ingredients include Wheat flour, malt
extract, malted barley, milk solids, sugar,
minerals, salt, vitamins, protein isolate[4][5].
The formulation can vary in different
countries.
Advertising

March 1952 ad for Horlicks in 208, the magazine of

Radio Luxembourg

Dan Dare, Pilot of the Future serial

sponsored by Horlicks in 1952 and
heard Monday to Friday at 7:15 p.m.
over Radio Luxembourg.
A commercial for Horlicks from 1935
0:00

Problems playing this file? See media help.

In 1961, Horlicks ran a television

advertising campaign that featured
Scottish entertainer Billy Raymond and an
actress. The theme of the advert was
"Horlicks – the food drink of the night."

Horlicks was the sponsor of the Lum and

Abner Show from 1934 to 1937.

Around the world

Explorer Ernest de Koven Leffingwell poses with cases
of Horlick's Malted Milk on Flaxman Island, Alaska,
circa 1910

Australia and New Zealand

In Australia and New Zealand, Horlicks is

imported from the UK and marketed by
GlaxoSmithKline. Horlicks is available in
Original (prepared with hot milk).
Hong Kong

In Hong Kong, Horlicks is known better as

a café drink than as a sleeping aid. It is
served at cha chaan tengs as well as fast-
food shops such as Café de Coral and
Maxim's Express. It can be served hot or
cold, and is usually sweetened with sugar.
It is made with warm milk, and ice is
added to it if a cold drink is desired.

India

Horlicks came to India with the British

Army; the end of World War I saw Indian
soldiers of British Indian Army bringing it
back with them as a dietary supplement.
Punjab, Bengal and Madras Presidencies
became early adopters of Horlicks and
many well-to-do Indians took to drinking
Horlicks as a family drink in early 1940s
and 1950s. It became a sort of status
symbol in upper middle class Indians and
rich classes. The first flavour available in
India, as in Britain, was malt.

India, where it has traditionally been

marketed as The Great Family Nourisher, is
the largest market for Horlicks.[6] The
Indian formulation for Horlicks is slightly
different than in most other countries, as
there it is manufactured from buffalo milk
rather than cows milk due to cultural
concerns.[7] In 2003, the brand underwent
a revamp which led to the introduction of
new flavours such as vanilla, toffee,
chocolate, honey, and elaichi
(cardamom).[8] The current line-up of
flavours include original (malt), chocolate
and elaichi.[9] with the latest offering
Horlicks Kesar Badaam added recently to
the portfolio, providing a more specialized
taste offering to the consumers.[10]

In recent years, there has been an increase

in the scope of the brand in India. By
pushing it to newer segments of the
market, Horlicks has become an umbrella
brand for a wide variety of products
ranging from the flagship malt drink to
instant noodles, confectionery and
breakfast cereal.[11] Special formulations
of the malted drink for young children
(Junior Horlicks), breast-feeding mothers
(Mother's Horlicks), women (Women's
Horlicks) and adults (Lite Horlicks)
exist.[12] Horlicks biscuits were first
launched in 1993,[13] and an energy bar
was launched in 2009, named Horlicks
NutriBar. Also in late 2009, Foodles, a
brand of instant noodles, was launched
under the Horlicks umbrella. This was
followed in 2011 by launches of Horlicks
Gold, a premium variant of the malt drink
(dubbed The Best Horlicks Ever), and
Horlicks Oats, the first breakfast cereal
product under the Horlicks brand.[14]

In 2010, Horlicks accounted for 85% of the

₹23.06 billion (US$340 million) revenue of
GlaxoSmithKline in India.[11] It is currently
the most widely consumed packaged
beverage in India, after bottled water.[15]

The biggest branding event is Horlicks

Wizkids.[16] This event started its way in
2003 and till now has reached
approximately 25 million children in all
India as well as in Sri Lanka, Nepal and
Bangladesh.
Ahaar Abhiyan[17] is a Horlicks initiative to
increase malnutrition-related awareness
amongst mothers, families and
communities. With the sale of every bottle
of Horlicks, the company contributes Re 1
towards the initiative. The campaign
attempts to raise awareness about proper
nutrition amongst mothers of children
aged between 3–6 years.

Horlicks Wizkids is an interschool cultural

and literary competition for children from
class 1 to 12. The competition attracts
students from India, Sri Lanka, Nepal and
Bangladesh. With more than 30 events in
the field of arts, literature, painting and
extra-curricular activities, Horlicks Wizkids
is South Asia's largest interschool fiesta
giving children an opportunity to showcase
their talent on a global platform.[18]

The 2013 Edition of Horlicks Wizkids

South Asia was held in Bangalore. It
consisted of five days of rigorous training
sessions, talent rounds, project
presentations and other fun, learning and
recreational activities. More than 100,000
students from over 1200 schools
participated. Five students from Vizag,
Jaipur, Delhi, Hyderabad and
Bhubaneshwar earned the title of the
Horlicks WizTeam 2013. The winners got
an opportunity to go for a learning
program to Germany and a cash award of
Rs. 100,000 each.[19]

Southeast Asia

In some Southeast Asian countries, such

as the Philippines and Malaysia, Horlicks
was also sold as milky-chocolate-
flavoured discs in paper packets, which
were then eaten as candy. Horlicks
remains popular in Malaysia and
Singapore where it packed under licence
from SmithKline Beecham and sold in
large glass and tin containers. It is also
available in 1.5 kg refill packs. "Taller,
stronger, sharper" is its slogan.

South Africa

Besides its use as a hot drink prepared

with hot milk, Horlicks is also a popular
ingredient in "honey and Horlicks"
milkshakes in South Africa.

United Kingdom

In the United Kingdom, Horlicks is

available in Original (prepared with hot
milk), Light (prepared with hot water), Malt
Chocolate (prepared with hot water) and
Caramel Dream (prepared with hot water).
GlaxoSmithKline attempted a rebrand of
the product in 2004 for younger
consumers by redesigning the packaging
and publicising its consumption at a
number of trendy London venues such as
the Groucho Club.

The company also owned Horlicks Farms

and Dairies, a cheese, dairy and cattle
breeding Station at "Hort Bridge", Ilminster,
Somerset. (The cattle breeding centre
provided an artificial insemination service
to farmers). In 1958, it took over The
Cheddar Valley Dairy, and by the early
1960s had retail rounds, depots, and
shops at Burnham, Cheddar, Clevedon,
Glastonbury, Nailsea, Taunton, and
Weston-super-Mare.

Company timeline

William Horlick
The Horlicks factory in Slough is a local landmark

1869: William Horlick from Ruardean,

Gloucestershire emigrated to the United
States.
1873: James Horlick, a pharmacist,
joined his brother, William, in the US and
together they founded the company J &
W Horlicks in Chicago to manufacture a
patented malted milk drink as an
artificial infant food.
1875: Business moved to larger
premises at Racine, Wisconsin, with an
abundant supply of spring water.
1883: US patent 278,967 granted to
William for first malted milk drink mixing
powder with hot water.
1890: James returned to London to set
up an office importing US-made product.
1906: Slough selected as site for new
factory (see picture).
1908: Factory construction completed at
a cost of £28,000.
1909–1910: Horlicks became popular
as a provision for North Pole and South
Pole expeditions by Robert Peary, Roald
Amundsen, and Robert Falcon Scott.
1914: James made a baronet. World
War I saw extensive use of Horlicks
drink at home and at the front.
1921: Death of James led company to
split, with William having responsibility
for the Americas and the sons of James
for the rest of the world.
1928: William Horlick High School
founded just north of Horlicks'
headquarters in Racine, Wisconsin.
1931: "Night Starvation" story developed
to promote Horlicks as a bedtime drink.
1935: Richard E. Byrd named the Horlick
Mountains on the edge of the Ross Ice
Shelf after William, in appreciation of his
support. A small factory opened in
Australia for the local market, including
New Zealand. Horlicks milky-chocolate-
flavoured disks in paper packets, which
were eaten as candy, were marketed in
the USA via radio commercials touting
the ease with which they could be taken
to school by children.
In the USA, Horlicks Tablets were sold
as a candy, offered in a glass bottle
resembling an aspirin jar. In World War II
the tablets were supplied to US, UK and
other troops as an energy boosting treat,
and included in lifeboat and liferaft
rations, and aircrew escape kits. Today
they are packaged in foil pouches,
manufactured in Malaysia as Horlicks
Malties.
1936: William Horlick died, aged 90.
1945: The US company was acquired by
the UK Horlicks business.
1952: Horlicks was linked to the
successful treatment of gastric ulcers
and some forms of diabetes.
1960: Factory built in Punjab, India, to
make Horlicks from buffalo milk.
1968: Factory built in West Punjab, to
supply local demand (including present-
 day Bangladesh).
1969: Horlicks acquired by the Beecham
Group.
1975–78: Factory construction and
expansion in Rajahmundry, Andhra
Pradesh.
1989: Beecham Group became
SmithKline Beecham.
2000: SmithKline Beecham became
GlaxoSmithKline.

See also
List of hot beverages
Malted milk
Milo (drink)
 Ovaltine

References
1. "Horlicks" . World Wide Words. Retrieved
2015-11-02.
2. "Straw says dossier was
'embarrassing' " . BBC News. 24 June 2003.
Retrieved 12 August 2007.
3.
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/201
8/mar/03/tories-brexit-michael-heseltine-
theresa-may?
subid=14791684&CMP=EMCNEWEML661
9I2
4. How healthy is your health drink?
Mumbai Mirror, Apr 14, 2008
5. Horlicks Traditional Malt 500g
6. Pinto, Viveat. "GSK plays catch-up in
foods & beverages" . Business Standard.
Retrieved 20 June 2012. “Leading the
charge is Horlicks, GSK's Rs 1,500-crore
brand – easily the largest in its portfolio
contributing 70 per cent to the brand's
revenues globally.”
7. "The History of Malted Milk Powder |
Culinary history, recipes, stories from
behind the scenes, and general geekdom" .
Kitchen Lore. 2011-07-22. Retrieved
2015-11-02.
8. Moutusi Maity; Arunava Saha Dalal;
Giridhar Rao B.G.; Navneet Chahal; Rohini
Ramachandran; Suraj Holla Byndoor.
"Revitalising Women's Horlicks in India" .
Indian Institute of Management Bangalore.
Archived from the original on 25 May
2012. Retrieved 20 June 2012.
9. "Horlicks Products | Horlicks" .
GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Healthcare
India Limited. Archived from the original
on 25 January 2013. Retrieved 20 June
2012.
10. "GlaxoSmithKline Consumer expands
Horlicks portfolio" .
Articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com.
Retrieved 2015-11-02.
11. Bhanu Pande; Ratna Bhushan (3
February 2011). "GSK Consumer: Will
pushing Horlicks into new categories
destroy the brand?" . The Economic Times.
Retrieved 20 June 2012.
12. "Horlicks Products | HFDs" .
GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Healthcare
India Limited. Archived from the original
on 25 January 2013. Retrieved 20 June
2012.
13. "GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Healthcare
India – Products – Horlicks Biscuits" .
GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Healthcare
India Limited. Retrieved 20 June 2012.
14. Khicha, Preeti. "Stretching the Horlicks
core" . afaqs!. Retrieved 20 June 2012.
15. Kitamura, Makiko. "Glaxo's Horlicks
Health Drink Outsells Pepsi in India:
Retail" . Bloomberg. Retrieved 20 June
2012.
16. [1] Archived 11 November 2013 at the
Wayback Machine.
17. [2] Archived 6 February 2014 at the
Wayback Machine.
18. Sakshi Mathur. "Horlicks Wizkids
launches an online campaign now students
get opportunity to participate in 2013 South
Asia Finals" . Indiaprwire.com. Retrieved
2015-11-02.
19. Sakshi Mathur (2013-12-30). "Winners
all the way: WizTeam 2013 wows the jury at
the South Asia finals of Horlicks Wizkids
2013 in Bangalore" . Indiaprwire.com.
Retrieved 2015-11-02.

External links
Look up Horlicks in Wiktionary, the free
dictionary.

Horlicks Global website

What Do Brits Mean by "Horlicks"? by
Brendan I. Koerner
 Wisconsin's Malted Milk Story

Retrieved from
"https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?
title=Horlicks&oldid=847686075"

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