Soft drinks brand Robinsons and Wimbledon have ended their 86-year-old partnership, one of the longest-running in sport. For nearly nine decades, the drinks company - which is now owned by Britvic - has been synonymous with Wimbledon fortnight, so much so that it launched the slogan “anything else just isn’t tennis” in 1988.
The break-up appears amicable – neither parties have revealed their reasoning for severing ties, according to Grocery Gazette, but there has been speculation that Britvic wanted to promote its other products such as Gatorade, Pepsi Max, Rockstar Energy, J20 and Fruit Shoot – and All England Lawn Tennis Club has appeared opposed to sugary soft drink associations.
The partnership, which dates back to 1935, started when Robinson’s first went into commercial production after the barley water drink created by Eric Smedley Hodgson gained popularity court side.
