Britvic-owned Robinsons and Wimbledon have ended their 86 year long partnership, as Britvic has reportedly wanted to promote its other drinks.
The move marks the end of one the longest running partnerships in sport, which dates back to 1935 when the squash brand’s barley, lemon juice and sugar blend was first introduced on court.
Despite speculation that Britvic wanted to promote its other products such as Gatorade, Pepsi Max, Rockstar Energy, J20 and Fruit Shoot – the tennis club has appeared opposed to sugary soft drink associations.
READ MORE: Robinsons launches ‘Big Fruit Hunt’ campaign
“Robinsons is no longer sponsoring Wimbledon fortnight and this year will be celebrating the whole of summer with The Big Fruit Hunt – an interactive opportunity to find virtual fruit and win real prizes,” Britvic tweeted.
The All England Lawn Tennis Club (AELTC) stated: “After more than 80 years, we can confirm that the partnership between the AELTC and Robinsons has come to an end. We are tremendously proud of the historic association with Robinsons over so many years, and thank them for the wider role they have played in supporting Wimbledon and tennis across the UK.”
While the corporate break-up appears amicable – neither parties have revealed their reasoning for severing ties.
Robinson’s first went into commercial production after the drink created by Eric Smedley Hodgson gained popularity court side.
Soon after, Wimbledon and Robinsons became closely associated with the squash brand launching its “anything else just isn’t tennis” slogan in 1988.
The only Wimbledon partnership to surpass Robinson’s has been its 120 year link with ball supplier Slazenger.
The news comes after Robinsons became the official soft drinks partner of the Hundred – a hundred-ball cricket tournament in England and Wales that was launched last summer.
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