A rich heritage

Our story goes back to 1881 when Abram Lyle, a Scottish businessman, sent his five sons from Greenock to London to build a sugar refinery which started melting in 1883. When problems with cargoes almost brought their work to an abrupt halt, Lyle insisted they carry on. 

He knew that the sugar cane refining process produced a treacly syrup that usually went to waste - but could be refined to make a delicious preserve and sweetener for cooking.  "Goldie" was made from the very start, in small but increasing quantities. The syrup was poured into wooden casks (imagine how long that took!) and sold to employees and local customers. Word spread even faster than the syrup - and in a few short months, a tonne a week was being sold. 

Wooden casks soon gave way to large Lyle's Golden Syrup dispensers that were placed on shelves of grocery stores. Lyle's Golden Syrup was first filled into tins in 1885.  Today more than a million tins leave the Plaistow factory on the banks of the River Thames each month.

An advertisement from
the early 1900s

Lyle's Golden Syrup today

In 1921 the business started by Abram Lyle merged with Tate, a sugar refining business started by Sir Henry Tate in 1859.  The new company became Tate & Lyle PLC.  Henry Tate and Abram Lyle probably never met, despite operating refineries less than two miles apart in East London.  It was their descendents who formed the famous Tate & Lyle partnership. Today, Tate & Lyle is the only cane sugar refiner in the UK, and the largest in Europe. 

To keep up with changing lifestyles, in recent years the Lyle's Golden Syrup range has expanded to include a whole host of products - including Lyle's Squeezy Syrups for ice cream and Lyle's Golden Spread.  The traditional Lyle's Golden Syrup tin remains a firm favourite, and now there's also a convenient pouring bottle available.

To find out more about Henry Tate and the history of sugar please visit www.tasteandsmile.co.uk

For more information about Tate & Lyle PLC, a world leader in renewable ingredients, please visit www.tateandlyle.com

A Tate & Lyle delivery van c.1938

The iconic green and gold tin

The famous Lyle's Golden Syrup tin is now one of the most familiar sights in British kitchens - and instantly recognisable among the 20,000 items stocked by today's supermarkets. This distinctive packaging has hardly changed since 1885 and has been named by Guinness World Records as the world's oldest branding in 2007!

Launched in the 1880's, the Victorian-style design has altered little over the years and its enduring image has now earned cult status in the design and packaging industries.  During World War 1 the 'tin' was even made out of thick cardboard as metal was being used for the war effort!

Lyle's Golden Syrup was awarded a Royal Warrant in 1911 and it's been proudly displayed on the tin ever since.

Classic tins from our museum

The "lion and the bees" trademark

Abram Lyle had strong religious beliefs, which is why the Lyle's Golden Syrup trademark depicts a quotation from the Bible.  In the Old Testament (Book of Judges 14:14) Samson was travelling to the land of the Philistines in search of a wife.  During the journey he killed a lion, and on his return past the same spot he noticed that a swarm of bees had formed a comb of honey in the carcass.  Samson later turned this into a riddle: "Out of the eater came forth meat and out of the strong came forth sweetness". 

The "lion and bees" were quickly becoming identified with Lyle's Golden Syrup, and it was registered as Lyle's trademark in 1904. Plaistow employees did not forget to celebrate its 100th birthday in 2004.

However, no-one knows why Abram chose the wording 'Out of the strong came forth sweetness'.  Was he referring to the tin holding the syrup - or the company producing it?

The famous lion and bees logo

How is Lyle's Golden Syrup made?

Sugar syrup is acidified so that the sucrose inverts.  Quite simply, the sucrose sugar molecule splits in half to give glucose and fructose sugars.  This inverted syrup is blended back with the original syrup to give a partially inverted syrup.  The secret of Lyle's Golden Syrup is the final blend of sucrose, glucose and fructose which allows the syrup to be so thick and velvety without crystallizing.

Lyle's Golden Syrup tins are made from flat sheets of tin-plated steel.  The flat sheets are rolled from each end to make hollow tubes, and then the base and other components are added immediately before the tins are filled with Lyle's Golden Syrup.  They are filled at speeds of up to 240 tins per minute on each of the two filling lines - one for the 454g and one for 907g tins.

Tins waiting expectantly to be filled

A worldwide favourite

People all over the UK enjoy Lyle's Golden Syrup and many households have a tin in their cupboard.   We also have a large overseas following in countries as far afield as China, South Africa, Australia, Yemen and the USA to name but a few.

A Chinese tin
(the writing is Mandarin)