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Scotland's aither
national drink is expected to be a star player at the forthcoming Fifa
Football World Cup with record shipments crossing the Pond to the
States, Canada and Mexico in good time for the soccer tournament set to
be staged in the three countries.
IRN-BRU - reputed to be "Made in Scotland from Girders" as the slogan
goes - will take on the mighty Coca Cola and Pepsi brands as hunerds
upon hunerds of thousands of thirsty Scots make the five thousand
kilometre each-way trip.
Out of interest - the above slang phrase emanates from the way Utahans
pronounce a hundred - Utah and Scotland share deep historical, cultural
and economic ties especially through significant immigration that
influenced business, the railroad, agriculture and education. The Utah
Scottish Association and annual Highland Games are going strong to this
day.
History lesson over. Well, not quite: IRN-BRU and its diet partner is a
relative newcomer to the US. Formulated since 2002 by A.G.Barr out of
Cumbernauld to meet regulations for food coloring set out by the Food &
Drug Administration.
Amazon's typical 24-pack advert
FDA Approved
UK ingredients include "Ponceau 4R" prohibited by the FDA with approved
alternative colorants manufactured by Barr's with product labelling also
meeting labelling standards on nutritional information and bar code.
In a recent poll Scotland was found to be the sole soft drink to outsell
Coca-Cola - there is also Inca Kola sold in Peru that apparently share a
similar profile in terms of caffeine-rich fluorescent fizz.
Until early 2023 Robin Barr, great grandson of Robert Barr who first
established a soft drinks company in Falkirk in 1875, was a
Non-Executive Director on the board before retiring, previously serving
as Chairman until 2009.
Robin is one of only three people in the world who knows the secret
recipe, one other being daughter Julie currently an NED at board level
who heads up the legal team. The Barr Family involvement in the
publicly-quoted company remains an integral part of what makes IRN-BRU
extra unique.
Tartan from Kinloch Anderson
IRN-BRU 130z Tartan
Record Sales
IRN-BRU reportedly sells 20 cans every second throughout Scotland, the
carbonated soft drink can be mixed with various spirits and is also
renowned for being something of a hangover cure. Whether Barr's can
match anything like that target in terms of sales remains to be seen.
It was the only soft drink on sale at the 2021 United Nations Climate
Change Conference in Glasgow due to a sponsorship arrangement.
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Member of the US House of Representatives
attended COP26 and on trying the drink is reported to have uttered "I
love it!"
The volume of editorial and opinion publicity the drink gained on social
media and print media was described as "the summit's surprise" reputed
to be worth millions in free publicity.
Scotland's best footballer 2025:
The top 15 Scottish players
Scotland’s National Team
(photo courtesy The Scotsman) have qualified to play in the 2026 FIFA
World Cup Finals for the first time since 1998. |
