Lemon & Paeroa
 Lemon & Paeroa on sale in Shanghai | |
| Type | Soft drink |
|---|---|
| Manufacturer | Coca-Cola Amatil (NZ) Ltd |
| Country of origin | Paeroa, New Zealand |
| Introduced | 1907 |
| Colour | Pale, light yellow |
| Flavour | Lemon |
| Website | http://www.cokecareers.co.nz/products |
Lemon & Paeroa, also known as L&P, is a sweet 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, in specialty New Zealand stores abroad and in the Gourmet Burger Kitchen[1] chain of restaurants within the UK. The comically pretentious advertising slogan "World famous in New Zealand" has become a popular New Zealand saying, meaning that if the premise of 'New Zealand is the only nation of the world' is true, then the drink would indeed be world famous. The comic effect arises from the need for such an outrageous premise, for such a petty claim to fame.
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".[2][3]
L&P is also often used as a mixer in New Zealand bars, particularly with Southern Comfort.
Although L&P itself is now made on the same production line as Coke's other beverages, an L&P Kiwiana shop and café remains in Paeroa.
Analysis of Paeroa mineral water by Arthur Wohlman in 1904 revealed magnesium bicarbonate in a concentration of 73 grains to the gallon (1040 mg/L).[4] In 1908 the property containing the mineral spring was purchased by Robert Fewell and his brother-in-law Frank Brinkler.[5] Their company Paeroa Natural Mineral Water Company, bottled the spring water until 1915 when they sold the company to Menzies and Company who, in turn, opened a new factory in Paeroa in 1926. In the late 1940s 'Lemon and Paeroa' and 'Paeroa and Lemon' were both marketed. In 1963 Menzies and Co merged with Hamilton based bottlers CL Innes, and L&P took on the Innes Tartan as a motif on the neck of the L&P bottle. This continued until the late 1970s, when L&P was taken over by Oasis Industries, before it was, in turn, taken over by Coca Cola.[4]
In the late 1980s, a collaboration of New Zealand music artists recorded a cover of Martha and the Vandellas song (Love is Like A) Heat Wave, to promote the drink.
See also
References
- ↑ "Gourmet Burger Kitchen". Retrieved 2013-12-29. "Gourmet Burger Kitchen Drinks Menu"
- ↑ "L&P Stubbies Advert". London W5 2ZS, United Kingdom: Visit4 Limited. 2005-02-26. Retrieved 2010-01-24. "World famous in New Zealand since ages ago."
- ↑ "L & P Stubbies Ad (NZ)". San Bruno, CA 94066, United States: YouTube. Retrieved 2010-01-24. "World famous in New Zealand since ages ago."
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 McCloy, Nicola (2008). Made in New Zealand: Stories of iconic Kiwi brands. Auckland: Random House. pp. 36–37. ISBN 978-1-86979-018-9.
- ↑ "History of Lemon and Paeroa". Positive Paeroa. 2011.
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