Lemon & Paeroa
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Lemon & Paeroa, also known as L&P, is a sweet, uncoloured soft drink manufactured in New Zealand. Traditionally made by combining lemon juice with carbonated mineral water from the town of Paeroa, it is now manufactured by multi-national Coca-Cola.
Lemon & Paeroa can be found only in New Zealand (and in speciality New Zealand stores in Australia, along with other products such as New Zealand Natural ice cream). The paradoxical advertising slogan "World famous in New Zealand" has become a popular New Zealand saying meaning very well known locally, but not receiving the recognition it deserves overseas.
Over the years attempts have been made to market variations, such as L&P dry. In 2005 "Sweet As L&P" with artificial sweetener aspartame was introduced with the modified slogan "World Famous in New Zealand since quite recently", the traditional product now being advertised as "World Famous in New Zealand since AGES ago".
Although L&P itself is now made on the same production line as Coke's other beverages, an L&P Kiwiana shop and cafe remains in Paeroa.
Note: Up to the mid-1970's, the motif Innes Tartan appeared on the neck of the L & P bottle.
[edit] History
It began in a cow paddock in the late 1880's where Paeroa residents discovered a mineral spring that provided a refreshing drink. Some folk, well ahead of their time, were even given to adding a slice or two of lemon to the water for flavour. Then, inevitably, big business got in on the act and the Paeroa National Mineral Water Company began a bottling operation. At first the beverage was seen more as a therapy than a thirst-quencher, a popular attitude supported by the government balneologist in 1904. Dr. Arthur E. Wollman's official analysis described the "mild alkaline akalybeate water containing a somewhat large proportion of magnesium carbonate" as valuable for medicinal purposes—but not much else. He saw it as table water but wasn't sure anyone would go to the expense of bottling it. Such was the consumption of tea in New Zealand in 1904 that Wollman saw no future for any alternative drink. Nevertheless, in 1907 Menzies & Co., who already had 'aerated cordial' (carbonated soft drink) factories at Te Aroha, Waihi, Hamilton and Thames, purchased the Paeroa company. At first the new owners simply packaged the natural water, but soon, no doubt on local advice, began carbonating the mineral water and adding lemon. The company merged to become Grey & Menzies and in 1909 was shipping wooden casks of the water to its Auckland factory. There it was carbonated, flavoured, then bottled for distribution to an expanding market. By the early 1960s the majority of the country's hotels were owned by the two large breweries, Dominion and New Zealand. But L. D. Nathan Ltd .also had hotels and, to ensure a supply of their life-blood, bought a brewery of their own, the Waikato Brewery. This had been owned by C. L. Innes Ltd. The latter had merged with L&P's bottlers Grey and Menzies in 1963 to form Innes Tartan Ltd. The 1964 sale of Innes to Nathan's gave L&P international stable-mates in Coca-Cola and Schweppes and Nathan's established the giant Oasis bottling complex at Mt. Wellington in Auckland to manufacture L&P, along with Coca-Cola and Fanta. This company now distributes soft drinks all over New Zealand.
