Sugar tax be damned, Irn-Bru is back
The year 2018 saw a soft drinks industry levy (SDIL) or ‘sugar tax‘ implemented across the UK. It essentially put a price of 24p on every eight grams of sugar per 100ml, which went straight to HMRC.
It was introduced as part of the government’s obesity strategy, hoping to reduce national BMI by reducing the amount of sugar in various soft drinks brands. Not exactly the most fool-proof idea as many companies still produce full-fat/sugar variants of their drink and plenty of people are still willing to pay the extra pennies for it.
One of those that didn’t, however, was Scotland’s finest: Irn-Bru.
Back when the sugar tax was announced, manufacturer, A.G. Barr, agreed to change the drink’s firey formula; in truth, many people have found it to be lacking the same punch it had ever since.
But fear not! If you’re willing to spike your blood sugar for a treat every once in a while, you will soon be able to enjoy the old-school Irn-Bru once again.
‘Irn-Bru 1901’ is complete with commemorative packaging that points towards the original formula from the 1901 recipe on the label. Irn-Bru 1901 will even be purchasable in the classic 750ml glass bottles.
The product was given a trial run last year which, unsurprisingly, was snapped up faster than the speed of light. As such, the demand for its return was clear and Irn-Bru 1901 is now permanently back in shops all year round.
Whilst the modern Irn-Bru recipe that A.G. Barr released in 2018 will obviously still be available, much like with pre-sugar tax Coca-Cola, you will now be able to buy the original, full-sugar recipe should you choose.
The product is back as of today and not unlike when people started stockpiling the last of the old batch, we expect them to be flying off the shelves. The slogan is “old and unimproved”. Touché.
