First, let me take you back to 2004:
news.bbc.co.ukThursday, 18 November, 2004, 16:20 GMT
No beef over Bovril’s veggie move
Bovril, the beefy drink beloved of football fans, has been stripped of its main meaty ingredient in a bid to boost sales, its maker has confirmed.
[…]
A spokesman for the firm said a long-term decline in sales had prompted the move.
“It was not an easy decision to make because we know people like the taste of beef,” he added.
“Many people have a strong affection for the Bovril brand but that doesn’t necessarily come through in sales.
“In blind taste tests we have conducted 10% didn’t notice any difference in taste, 40% preferred the original and 50% preferred the new product.
…and now let me bring the story up to date:
food business review1st September 2006
Unilever puts the beef back into Bovril
Bovril, the famous British drink, is to have beef put back into its ingredients by its makers Unilever.
The drink had consisted of vegetarian ingredients since 2004 following the export ban on British Beef. The ban raised fears over bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), or mad cow disease as it is often referred to, and forced the makers to replace the beef content of the drink with a savory yeast mix.
But now the beef is back, with a company spokesperson explaining: “Now the ban on British Beef export has been lifted, there was never any doubt that the beef would go back into Bovril drink.”
[…]
The company has stated that there will not be a vegetarian replacement for the re-beefed drink, a move in part motivated by the lack of vegetarian Bovril drinkers to emerge since 2004.
Toast, butter, bovril – thinly spread – and ultra-thin slices of mature cheddar, off the wheel. Magic.
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