Um Bongo facts for kids
Um Bongo logo since 2005
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| Type | Beverage |
|---|---|
| Owner | Sumol + Compal |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Introduced | 1983 |
| Markets | United Kingdom, Portugal |
| Website | http://www.umbongo.com/ |
Um Bongo is a popular brand of fruit juice drinks. It was first made in 1983 in the United Kingdom. Originally, it was part of the Libby's brand, which belonged to Nestlé. Later, the company Sumol + Compal took over the brand. Today, Sumol + Compal makes and sells Um Bongo in both the UK and Portugal. The tropical Um Bongo drink has many fruit juices and purees. These include apple, lemon, orange, pineapple, passion fruit, mandarin, apricot, guava, and mango.
Contents
The Story of Um Bongo
Um Bongo was first created in 1983. It started in a place called Milnthorpe in Cumbria, UK. At first, it was sold under the Libby's name. Nestlé owned Libby's fruit juices at that time. Nestlé then allowed another company, Gerber Foods Soft Drinks Ltd, to make Um Bongo in the UK and Ireland. In the UK, Gerber Juice Company Limited packaged the drink until 2017.
In 1986, Libby's made a big change to Um Bongo. They removed all artificial colors, sweeteners, and preservatives. Instead, they used natural colors. They also replaced citric acid with lemon juice. However, since 2011, citric acid has been used again in the drink.
Nestlé launched Um Bongo in Portugal in 1988. They even had a Portuguese TV advertisement. The slogan there was Um Bongo, O bom sabor da selva, which means "Um Bongo, The great flavor of the jungle." A Portuguese company called Compal bought the Um Bongo brand from Nestlé by 2003.
Compal later joined with another company, Sumol, in 2009. In 2010, the company launched a new version called Um Bongo 100% Fruit. They also released a fun toy collection in 2011. It was called Um Bongo e o bom coração da selva, meaning "Um Bongo and the great heart of the jungle."
In 2013, the Um Bongo website saw a lot more visitors. This happened after a politician made some comments. The company quickly said they had no connection to politics.
Changes to the UK Recipe
Around the late 1990s, parents started to worry about the amount of sugar and artificial flavors in children's drinks. This led to new rules for these products. Because of these rules, the Um Bongo recipe in the UK changed around 2003 or 2004. Many of the original ingredients were removed. The drink was then called "Um Bongo-100% juice." This new version only had bananas, orange, and pineapple. The original drink had many more fruits, like apple, lemon, passion fruit, mandarin, apricot, guava, and mango. New packaging for the drink also came out by 2007. It had less mention of the Congo region.
The Original Um Bongo Returns to the UK
After Libby's changed the recipe, many people complained. Because of this, the company decided to bring back the original Um Bongo recipe in 2009. The "Classic" Um Bongo was renamed "Um Bongo Tropical." It also came in new plastic 500 ml bottles. These were sold in the chilled section of stores. Libby's created a website, Facebook, and YouTube accounts to get more support for the original flavor.
In May 2011, an "Original" flavor was officially introduced. It was sold in 200 ml cartons, usually in packs of three. The 100% Tropical juice version was later stopped. The "Original" flavor took its place. An "Orange" flavor was released in 2012. A larger 1-liter size started being sold in 2013.
Um Bongo Advertisements
Um Bongo is very well known for its catchy song. The jingle goes, "Um Bongo, Um Bongo, they drink it in the Congo." This song has been part of animated TV advertisements since 1985.
The song was sung by Tony Jackson. The music and words were created by Andy Blackford. The advertisement itself was made by Oscar Grillo at Klacto Animations. Their earlier advert for another drink in 1984 was very popular. This led them to be asked to create the Um Bongo ad for the company Leo Burnett.
Other Um Bongo Drinks
Libby's has made two other types of fruit juice drinks since the 1980s.
Libby's Moonshine was one of them. It was sold until 1992. This drink had fruits that are more common in the UK. These included strawberries, raspberries, apples, blackberries, and cherries. The animated adverts for Moonshine had the slogan, "Moonshine, looks pretty weird but it tastes just fine."
In 1999, Um Bongo got a sister drink called "Um Ognob." This name is "Bongo" spelled backward. Um Ognob was a special blend of apple, banana, apricot, orange, and passion fruit juice. It also had extra vitamins. This drink was stopped in 2003.
