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Horlicks is a malted milk hot drink developed by founders James and William Horlick. It is now marketed and manufactured by GlaxoSmithKline (Consumer Healthcare) in the United Kingdom, New Zealand, Hong Kong, Bangladesh, Pakistan, India, and Jamaica.
Contents
Manufacturing process
In the initial stage of manufacturing, milled malted barley and wheat flour are mashed together in hot water where the starch is converted into sugars. To this sugar solution dairy powders are added. The water content is then evaporated to form a syrup that is dried in vacuum band driers to form a cake. This cake is milled into the finished powder.
Sleep promotion
Claims are often made by malted milk drinks such as Horlicks that they assist sleep, but these claims have been difficult to verify. According to GlaxoSmithKline: "While ... research indicates that Horlicks drinks can help you to sleep better, the exact way in which Horlicks works is not clear."
Malted drinks may help to stave off hunger overnight, which can lead to sounder sleep.
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". For example, the term was used in July 2003 by British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw ("a complete Horlicks") to describe irregularities in the preparation and provenance of a dossier regarding weapons of mass destruction in Iraq.
Advertising
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.
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. 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. In 2003, the brand underwent a revamp which led to the introduction of new flavours such as vanilla, toffee, chocolate, honey, and elaichi (cardamom). The current line-up of flavours include original (malt), chocolate and elaichi. with the latest offering Horlicks Kesar Badaam added recently to the portfolio, providing a more specialized taste offering to the consumers.
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. 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. Horlicks biscuits were first launched in 1993, 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.
In 2010, Horlicks accounted for 85% of the ₹23.06 billion (US$340 million) revenue of GlaxoSmithKline in India. It is currently the most widely consumed packaged beverage in India, after bottled water.
The biggest branding event is Horlicks Wizkids. 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, Pakistan, Nepal and Bangladesh.
Ahaar Abhiyan 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, Pakistan, 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.
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.
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.
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
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.