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And it was its early sponsorship of the All-England lawn tennis championships at Wimbledon (as far back as 1928) that arguably did the most to establish its place in the hearts and minds of British mums. Long before it resorted to commercial TV advertising, it was visible to an audience of millions on the BBC for a fraction of the cost.

The association with Wimbledon was an incredibly powerful one and remains so to this day, despite the arrival of other beverages at the umpire's chair. Robinsons has built on its sponsorship by supporting British number one Tim Henman since 1998, and working with the Lawn Tennis Association on major grassroots tennis sponsorship (the Robinsons Aces) to increase British chances in the game. This grassroots work has included the launch of 'street tennis', which uses a racket and a ball but does away with the court and the net and is designed to test hand-eye co-ordination and introduce youngsters from the inner cities to the game.

Of course, though sponsorship has been a cornerstone of Robinsons' success, there are many other elements to the Robinsons mix. The earliest ingredient was the health sell. Barley water was originally a Victorian cure-all for fevers and kidney complaints. But the real breakthrough for the brand came in 1935 when it developed the first 'ready-to-use' barley water cordial.

From that moment, new product development was a constant, with lemon barley crystals and new lime, orange and rhubarb flavours.

After the war, we saw the first 'squash', 'smash' (later called 'whole orange drink') carbonated drinks, low calorie substitutes, a baby syrup, pure baby juices, cordials and fruit juices, as well as other new flavours.

Since Robinsons was bought by soft-drink giant Britvic in 1995, that product development has continued apace and it is now the 11th biggest grocery brand, purchased by one-in-two households. Today the Robinsons line-up includes products for all the family, including the premium barley water, Robinsons Original (which was actually launched in 1988), Special R (a no sugar product), High Juice (adults) and Fruit Break, plus a kids range called Fruit Shoot, which has been a very successful recent launch.

This portfolio approach is backed up by the excellent category management, packaging innovation and research skills of the Britvic team. The latest gizmo is a re-sealable sports bottle that moves the kids market on from the usual carton-and-straw.

Another new and successful development engineered by Britvic has been a move into brand licensing. Robinsons has been closely involved with Disney on big animation films such as Monsters Inc, A Bug's Life and Tarzan.

There has also been close collaboration with TV stations such as Nickelodeon and Cartoon Network in the development of computer games on a dedicated Fruit Shoot web site.

Last but certainly not least is Robinsons' advertising. Always a heavy trade promoter, until relatively recently, the bulk of above-the-line advertising supported the Wimbledon tennis association, with one simple but witty campaign using the tagline 'Anything else just isn't tennis'.

In more recent years, as the portfolio of Robinsons products has expanded, the range of messages has extended beyond the blue skies and green grass of its original approach.

One memorable campaign, 'Feed their imagination', aimed fairly and squarely at mums, used the amusing misappropriation of words to comic effect.

A campaign called 'Tap' was more radical still, showing adults staring at a dripping tap. The launch of Fruit Shoot used moral dilemmas to show kids the difference between right and wrong.

Robinsons is a classic example of a brand that has used product innovation to extend well beyond its roots as a middle class, adult-based premium product. Even the Wimbledon association has been diluted by its innovative moves in the kids market and today it is as closely associated with school lunches as with summer holidays. One thing's for sure. As the portfolio of products continues to expand, its reliance on marketing becomes more important than ever.

FACT FILE
1823
Robinson & Bellville merges with Keen. Its Barley Water, a powdered
drink, is a best-selling Victorian cure-all for fevers and kidney
complaints.
1903
J&J Colman buys Keen Robinson Bellville.
1928
Robinsons begins its long association with the Wimbledon tennis
championships.
1935
Robinsons Ready to Use Barley Water is launched.
1988
Robinsons launches the 'Anything else just isn't tennis' campaign and
the Wimbledon trophy shield advert.
1995
Britvic buys the Robinsons brand.
1998
Robinsons sponsors British tennis number one Tim Henman.