History

The 1920's

MiWadi takes its name from Mineral Water Distributors.

The company was formed in 1927 in Nassau Place in Dublin. The company produced MiWadi as well as C&C and Club.

Mineral Water Distributors was a small company with approx. 80 employees.

The MiWadi syrup was made up in the Syrup Room on the second floor and then manually filled downstairs.

The 1930's

It wasn't until the 1930's that MiWadi was being produced on a daily basis. MiWadi was manufactured by hand.

The bottles were washed and then passed along a line where they were filled and labelled. MiWadi was then cellophane wrapped to protect the bottle, the cellophane wrap also added the appearance of freshness.

The bottles were then placed into wooden crates where they were distributed around Dublin by Horse and Cart. The production capacity was 60 dozen per day.

Flavours that were popular in the 30's were Orange, Lemon, Orange Barley and Orange Lemon but the biggest flavour was Grapefruit.

The 1940's

The WAR had a major effect on MiWadi and the factory in Dublin. MiWadi was one of the few drinks to be kept in production as the product could be rationed.

During this period MiWadi was also carbonated and replaced Club Orange as the fizzy Orange drink.

The drink was sold in Chemists. Cordials were considered to be healthy drinks and were given to people when they were sick.

It was considered an expensive treat during the 40's if you were able to drink MiWadi. A small fleet of lorries were used to distribute the product around Dublin.

The 1950's

The 1950's were still a difficult period in Ireland.

The economy was still recovering after the war years and emigration was high. You could even buy a house for £1,000. In the 1950's MiWadi moved into semi automated production.

This meant that the filling was done by machine but the washing, labelling and capping remained to be conducted by hand. The use of this machinery increased the factory's output from 60 dozen a day up to 200 dozen a day.

Screw caps were introduced to replace corks and MiWadi was sold in cardboard cartons.

New flavours such as Blackcurrant were added to the range and MiWadi Glucose, an energy drink, was popular.

The 1960's

In the 1960's machines were introduced to do much of the MiWadi production. Cellophane was still used to wrap the glass bottles before stacking.

MiWadi still was mainly sold in chemists but was becoming more popular in larger Grocers. In 1967 MiWadi production was moved to Ballyfermot where a new, larger factory was build to cope with demand.

1960's MiWadi Blackcurrant Flavour Packaging Label

The company which produced MiWadi changed its name from Mineral Water Distributors to Thwaites and then to C&C but MiWadi still kept the same name.

The 1970's

The 1970's were boom years for the brand. The introduction of large supermarkets made the brand more accessible to more consumers.

Dunnes Stores was the first supermarket to order 1,000 dozen. The brand was repackaged in this decade to attract more consumers to the brand.

There was also a series of very successful MiWadi promotions - Space Hoppers and the MiWadi "Measure Me" chart captured the imagination of MiWadi drinkers.

The 1980's

In the 1980's MiWadi remained in glass for most of the decade but changed dramatically in the late 80's with the introduction of plastic bottles and plastic labels.

Orange and Blackcurrant were the most popular flavours.

The Brand became popular in bars where MiWadi became popular as "a dash" in drinks.

The 1990's

The 90's were an exciting time for MiWadi. The Brand was repackaged and heavily promoted.

A new television campaign was launched: "My Goodness, MiWadi ." which was extremely successful.

New flavours such as Orange and Pineapple were launched as well as a new 2.0 Litre range.

A school's Competition, called the Cultural Awards, was launched with MiWadi support.

The product was launched into Northern Ireland where it has become the second biggest branded cordial.

The 2000's

Miwadi continues to go from strength to strength and is Irelands number 1 cordial.

With a wide range of flavours available and a full No Added Sugar range added to the portfolio Miwadi is a firm favourite with all the family. This is best shown in the popular 'It's not your Wadi, it's Mi Wadi" advertising.

As the country heads into a more challenging economic environment Miwadi continues to offer fantastic value with a range of drinks still all produced in our Dublin factory.

The 2010's

Miwadi is a truly iconic Irish brand and continues to go from strength to strength in the marketplace appealing to all age groups. From small beginnings in 1927, when it was filled by hand in Nassau Place (Dublin) and distributed by horse and cart, Miwadi is still produced in Dublin to this day and around 16.5 million litres of MiWadi are consumed every year. Miwadi is a key brand in the Love Irish Food Campaign and we know that buying Irish is important to Miwadi consumers.

This autumn, as Miwadi continues to drive the Squash Category, the brand will be re-launched with fantastic contemporary & fresh packaging. Our new design focuses on what consumers say is important about the brand - delicious fruity images illustrating how Miwadi is prepared with sun-ripened fruit and contains real fruit juice, tasty refreshment and a simple great way to make drinking water fun for themselves and their kids. The Miwadi range is free from artificial colours and artificial flavours and is available in 1 litre and 2 litre bottles in a wide range of flavours in both regular and No Added Sugar formulations, this continues to be a key driver of category growth in Squash as consumers look to reduce the sugar intake for their children. The Love Irish Foods logo will also proudly feature on the new packaging.

The Miwadi relaunch will be supported by an extensive advertising campaign across, Press, Radio and Outdoor, a massive PR programme – and a busy calendar of in store promotional activity with fantastic offers for your customers right through until Christmas – Miwadi will be focussing on getting existing and new consumers to drink more squash, more often and to make water fun!!

So, stock up on the full Miwadi range & make sure that you have Miwadi, the leading Squash brand in the market available for your customers!