Tate & Lyle switches out longest running brand icon from Golden Syrup after a century

(All image credits: Lyle’s Golden Syrup).

23 Feb 2024 --- A classic British shelf staple is retiring its Christian iconography-inspired logo from circulation after more than a century. Tate & Lyle’s brand imagery of a dead lion laying on the ground while swarmed by bees, displayed on packaging for its Lyle’s Golden Syrup for over 140 years, has now been replaced by imagery of a happy lion’s face and a single bee.

Typically drizzled over pancakes and porridge, the syrup is a familiar commodity among British consumers since its debut in 1883. Holding the Guinness World Record for the world’s oldest unchanged brand packaging with its green tin and golden lion at the center-front.

“We’re excited to unveil a fresh redesign for the Lyle’s Golden Syrup brand. For a century and a half, Lyle’s has added flavor and fun to the breakfast table and in foods that the whole family love, bringing a delicious dose of absolutely golden magic to any moment,” James Whiteley, brand director for Lyle’s Golden Syrup.

Lyle’s Golden Syrup sports a new logo after a century.“While we’ll continue to honor 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.”

Whiteley believes the “fresh new design” will ultimately make it easier for consumers to discover Lyle’s for the “modern UK family.”

“Out of the strong came sweetness”
The initial concept originated from the founder of the product, Abraham Lyle, a Scottish entrepreneur, who envisioned a Christian motif for the tin packaging.

The biblical narrative from the Book of Judges recounts the tale of Samson who discovered a hive of bees producing honey within a lion’s carcass after it was slain.

Samson later posed a riddle to his wedding guests, incorporating the phrase: “Out of the eater, something to eat; out of the strong, something sweet.”

This particular line, “out of the strong came forth sweetness,” was selected to adorn the logo of Lyle’ Golden Syrup, and has remained an integral part of its branding ever since.

However, public forums reveal it has not been all praise for the brand re-outfitting.

Debating the move on GB News, host Eamonn Holmes admitted “never noticing” the deceased depiction of the lion in the original logo. His co-host Isabel Webster agreed, adding: “I knew there was a lion on it, but never noticed what was all over it.”

“A successful brand with a solid reputation probably has more to lose than gain by going for a new logo. The redrawn lion is so stylized as to lack clarity at first glance, whereas the old lion is clearly a lion — it is what it looks like on the tin,” Royal Fine Art Commission Trust executive director Robert Bargery told the Daily Mail.

“But who knows, Golden Syrup may soon be as stigmatized as cigarettes, so the lively rebrand of a dead lion may excite a sugar rush among the avocado-on-toast generation.”

By Benjamin Ferrer

This feature is provided by Packaging Insights’s sister website, Food Ingredients First.

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