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Horlicks is a British sweet malted milk hot Malt drink powder developed by founders James and William Horlick. It was first sold as "Horlick's Infant and Invalids Food", soon adding "aged and travellers" to their label. In the early 20th century, it was sold as a powdered meal replacement drink mix.
'Night starvation' was a fictitious condition invented by Horlicks as an advertising gimmick that was supposedly relieved if a mug of the malt drink was consumed before bedtime. In the comedy song "Goodness Gracious Me!", the doctor (Peter Sellers) humorously suggests "night starvation" as a possible ailment, though the real issue is that both characters are lovesick.
It was then marketed as a nutritional supplement and manufactured by GlaxoSmithKline (Consumer Healthcare) in Australia, Bangladesh, Hong Kong, India, Pakistan, Nepal, Thailand, Singapore, Jamaica, Malaysia, New Zealand, South Africa, Sri Lanka, and the United Kingdom. It is now produced by the Anglo-Dutch company Unilever through its Indian division. Horlicks in the UK is currently owned by Aimia Foods.
On 3 December 2018, Unilever announced they were buying Horlicks Indian business for US$3.8 billion. The Horlicks UK business had already been sold in 2017 to Aimia Foods, a UK-based subsidiary of Cott Corporation.> In Britain, Horlicks is commonly consumed before bedtime and marketed as an evening drink. In contrast, it is promoted as a breakfast drink in India, where it enjoys far greater popularity.
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.
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 from that used in most other countries, as there it is manufactured from buffalo milk rather than cows milk. In 2003, the brand underwent a revamp which led to the introduction of new flavours such as vanilla, toffee, chocolate, honey, and Green cardamom (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 revenue of GlaxoSmithKline in India. In 2012 it was the most widely consumed packaged beverage in India, after bottled water.
The biggest branding event is Horlicks Wizkids.[1] 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, Nepal and Bangladesh.
Ahaar Abhiyan[2] 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 ₹1 towards the initiative. The campaign attempts to raise awareness about proper nutrition amongst mothers of children aged between 3 and 6 years.
Horlicks Wizkids is an interschool cultural and literary competition for children from class 1 to 12. The competition attracts students from India, 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 1,200 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 ₹100,000 each.
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.
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