The Gluctoza – and the good times – flowed for Dundee United as the 1982/83 campaign entered the final straight.
Celtic slipped up with four games to go.
United powered on.
Four more wins saw the title going to Tannadice for the first time.
Was a Forfar energy drink the secret ingredient?
Gluctoza was the product of Strathmore Springs and was adopted by United during the title-run in and became the Tannadice Parkers’ official sports drink during the 1980s.
McLean’s men reached previously unimaginable heights during that period.
The Tangerines transferred domestic success to the continent as the team marched all the way to the European Cup semi-final in 1984 and the Uefa Cup final in 1987.
Who needs Lucozade?
Strathmore Springs Forfar factory at West High Street made a whole range of different drinks including Ferguzade which was the precursor to Gluctoza.
Ferguzade started off being made by Dundee chemist John Ferguson on a limited scale at his Hilltown shop before partnering with Strathmore Springs to increase production in 1950.
The drink was taken up by wholesalers across the UK and would pitch Ferguzade up against Lucozade in the battle for shelf space in the energy drinks war.
Ferguzade was advertised as being recommended for cases of exhaustion, fever, pregnancy sickness, shock and acidosis.
A miracle cure if you were ill and Scottish!
Ferguzade came in a yellow cellophane wrapped bottle with tartan banner and was known as the supreme glucose beverage which would replace lost energy “deliciously”.
Gluctoza arrived in 1983 after being in development since 1981.
An Evening Telegraph advertising feature from 1983 said Gluctoza was “packed with glucose to provide an easy and quick energy source when it’s needed most”.
Do you remember the 500ml and 750ml bottles?
The advertising feature read: “After two years of intensive research and development, a new health drink is about to be launched on the market.
“The new drink, Gluctoza, is the product of the Forfar-based firm Strathmore Springs, and their plans for Gluctoza received a massive boost recently when the drink was adopted by three major football teams in Scotland alone.
“Already Dundee, Dundee United and Aberdeen have tested and approved the drink and the players at Forfar Athletic have also started taking Gluctoza regularly.”
Gluctoza ‘not just for people who are sick’
The advertising feature was giving Evening Telegraph readers a coupon for 10p off one bottle from the production line at the company’s Dundee factory in Corso Street.
United players Ralph Milne and Paul Hegarty were involved in the advertising campaign for a product which Mr Brook said was “not just for people who are sick”.
Managing director David Brook forecast a great future for Gluctoza.
“After all the research we have done on this drink, we feel sure that it will fulfil a need in the market today,” said Mr Brook.
“Almost everywhere you look, people are taking an increased interest in what they eat and how they look.
“Gluctoza is the ideal drink to help keep you fit and looking great.
“Another of the main attractions of Gluctoza is its energy-giving property.
“Gluctoza has been developed with slightly differing properties from its competitors and it is not intended primarily as a pick-me-up after an illness.
“It is ideal as part of a training programme to restore the energy lost during exercise.”
So what was in your average bottle of Gluctoza back in 1983?
The advertising feature said: “The new Gluctoza drink, as its name suggests, is packed with glucose to provide an easy and quick energy source when it’s needed most.
“The drink is packed in half litre and three-quarter litre bottles.
“Almost a quarter of the contents of the bottle is made up of glucose syrup and every 100ml of Gluctoza has an energy value of 77 calories.
“It is ideal for almost every energetic activity and one of the most important features of the product is its purity.
“Strathmore Springs pride themselves on the water used in all their mineral products.
“Every floor that’s washed, every lorry that’s hosed down at their Forfar works is handled using water from the spring that gushes out from hundreds of feet beneath the floor of their factory.
“It’s this very same water that goes into the making of Gluctoza.
“Only in this way can the manufacturers be sure that the very purest and best ingredients are going into their products.”
The Evening Telegraph said the new product was a remarkable triumph for Strathmore Springs and a container ship loaded with Gluctoza “was already on its way to Trinidad”.
The company’s range of products were also being sold in Malta, the US and Japan while what was described as a “huge order” of its blackcurrant drink was sent to Singapore.
Amongst the most successful of its revitalised range of products was Scotch Water which “makes the ideal additive to whisky or it is a refreshing drink on its own”.
Ferguzade – made in Forfar. An alternative to the cellophane-wrapped Lucozade which dominated the take-it-into-hospital market. pic.twitter.com/QPcq3KlTRH
— PictureThis Scotland (@74frankfurt) October 14, 2021
Gluctoza was still being advertised as United’s energy drink in 1990 before Strathmore Springs decided to satisfy the thirst of consumers seeking healthier alternatives.
Major investment was reflected in Strathmore becoming one of the UK’s biggest bottled water brands and distributing a range of still, sparkling and flavoured products.
Strathmore was purchased by US-based Constellation Brands before eventually being snapped up in a £15 million deal in 2006 by Glasgow-based Irn-Bru maker AG Barr.
So what about United’s class of 2023?
Relegation from the Premier League ensured an unhappy 40th anniversary of the Tannadice club’s 1983 title win.
The Championship is regarded as the most competitive league in Scotland and the most difficult in terms of the possibility of getting promoted at the first time of asking.
This requires more commitment, more resilience and more staying power.
United will need to have an edge over their rivals.
Is now the perfect time to revive the recipe for Gluctoza?
A daily bottle of the good stuff could power this Tannadice team to another league title and ensure this is one 40th anniversary that has a happy ending.
Arabs would drink to that.
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