HE was a deeply religious Scots businessman who realised there was an opportunity to create a sweet cooking ingredient and breakfast preserve from his sugar refinery.
Abram Lyle, from Greenock, knew the refining process produced a treacle-like syrup that usually went to waste, but he discovered it could be refined to make a sweetener for cooking.
At first, his Goldie was only poured into wooden casks and sold to employees and local customers.
But word spread quickly, and within a few months, they were selling a tonne a week and the wooden casks were soon replaced by Lyle’s Golden Syrup dispensers.
Lyle’s Golden Syrup was first sold in tins in 1885 and now the its original logo of a dead lion being swarmed by bees has been replaced with an apparently happier animal and a single bee in its first rebrand since 1883.
The product’s green tin and golden lion packaging was first launched in 1881, and holds the Guinness World Record for the world’s oldest unchanged brand packaging, having remained essentially identical since 1883.
The original design was the idea of Mr Lyle, who decided to include a Christian analogy on the tins.
The Book of Judges details Samson killing a lion with his bare hands before returning to the carcass a few days later to find a swarm of bees had created a hive in its body.
In the story, Samson then took honey from the hive, and fed it to his parents without telling them where he got the honey from.
He later asks guests at his wedding to solve the riddle: “Out of the eater, something to eat; out of the strong, something sweet.”
A version of the riddle: “Out of the strong came forth sweetness” was chosen for the logo of Lyle’s Golden Syrup, and has remained on the tins ever since.
Lyle’s said the branding has been “revitalised for the modern UK family” in a move to “refresh the brand’s legacy to appeal to a 21st century audience”.
The rebrand will take place across the full product range, excluding the classic tin, which will retain the original illustration.
James Whiteley, brand director for Lyle’s Golden Syrup, said: “We’re excited to unveil a fresh redesign for the Lyle’s Golden Syrup brand.
“While we’ll continue to honour our original branding with the heritage tin, consumers need to see brands moving with the times and meeting their current needs.
“Our fresh, contemporary design brings Lyle’s into the modern day, appealing to the everyday British household while still feeling nostalgic and authentically Lyle’s.
“We’re confident that the fresh new design will make it easier for consumers to discover Lyle’s as an affordable, everyday treat, while re-establishing the brand as the go-to syrup brand for the modern UK family, featuring the same delicious taste that makes you feel Absolutely Golden.”
The rebrand will take place across the full product range, excluding the classic Lyle’s Golden Syrup tin, which will retain its heritage packaging.
The iconic green tin and golden lion logo holds the Guinness World Record for the world’s oldest unchanged brand packaging.
The updated branding will be rolled out to products this month and will continue throughout the year across retail and food service packs, including full-sized bottles, breakfast bottles, dessert toppings and golden syrup portions.
The logo now appears on ‘squeezy’ bottles of Golden Syrup and also features at the top of the brand’s website.
Abram Lyle started his working life at the age of 12 as an apprentice in a lawyer’s office, before joining his father’s cooperage business.
He subsequently built a career in shipping in partnership with his friend, John Kerr and the Lyle fleet grew to become one of the largest in Greenock, mainly involved in the shipment of sugar.
In 1865, he added sugar refining to his business interests through his co-purchase, of the Glebe Sugar Refinery in Greenock which closed in 1997.
After the death of the principal partner, John Kerr, in 1872, Lyle sold his shares and looked for a site for a new refinery.
In 1883 Abram Lyle & Sons started melting sugar at Plaistow Refinery in London which remains open as a Tate-& Lyle site today.
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