Scottish Irn-Bru: Medicinal Soft Drink

Barr's Make Scotland's Favourite Soda Pop, Outselling Coke and Pepsi

Oct 11, 2008 Sharon McKinley

It's bright orange, sickly sweet and proving so popular it's set to rival whisky as Scotland's most famous drink. It's no wonder Scots call Irn-Bru phenomenal.

Since 1901, Barr's Soft Drinks has been providing thirsty Glaswegians with Irn-Bru. It's recognisable flavour and distinctive orange colour set it apart from other drinks on the market in Scotland while it's fabled medicinal qualities made it a true favourite as a cure for a stomach ache and even a hangover.

But Irn-Bru isn't just a heavyweight in the drinks industry for it's selling power. The drink actually does contain 'Irn' (0.002% ammonium feric citrate to be exact) which gave rise to it's name and also one of it's most famous advertising slogans "Made in Scotland from Girders".

Other famous advertising campaigns have often courted controversy and include one with a cow featuring the slogan "When I'm a burger I want to be washed down with Irn-Bru" and another where a woman sings the words "And I especially love Irn-Bru, even though I used to be a man" in front of her family. The brand's most recent campaign was based around a Glaswegian version of Rudyard Kipling's famous poem 'If' and achieved cult status across Scotland.

The drink was also embroiled in controversy when fast food chain McDonalds opened their first outlet in Glasgow. Upon discovering that they couldn't get their favourite soft drink there, angry Glaswegians boycotted the store until Irn-Bru was given it's rightful place next to the other drink fountain giants.

Today, Irn-Bru is still Scotland's best loved soft drink, out-selling both Coca-Cola and Pepsi. In fact Scots just can't seem to get enough of the stuff, and increasingly weird and wonderful Irn-Bru creations have been invented including Irn-Bru ice cream, Irn-Bru sorbet, Irn-Bru caviar, Irn-Bru trifle and even Irn-Bru sausages which come in both original and sweet chilli versions.

And the future looks very bright for the brand indeed. Not content with dominating the Scottish drinks market, Irn-Bru is currently making its mark in countries across the world. Russians have become such ardent consumers of the orange fizz that Barr's Soft Drinks has opened five factories across the country to meet the growing demand. Though it is yet to rival the 200 million litres produced in Scotland each year.

Similar enthusiasm for the liquid has been seen in The Netherlands, Poland, Spain, Greece and Norway while sales are also growing outwith Europe across America, Canada and New Zealand. So, it seems world domination may well be within reach of Scotland's best loved tipple, the amber nectar of the North. The future's not just bright, it's orange.

The copyright of the article Scottish Irn-Bru: Medicinal Soft Drink in Food Trends is owned by Sharon McKinley. Permission to republish Scottish Irn-Bru: Medicinal Soft Drink in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.

The Distinctive Hue of Irn-Bru