Fisherman's Friend is a brand of strong menthol lozenges manufactured by the Lofthouse company in

Fleetwood Fleetwood is a coastal town in the Borough of Wyre in Lancashire, England, at the northwest corner of the Fylde. It had a population of 25,939 at the 2011 United Kingdom census, 2011 census. Fleetwood acquired its modern character in the 1830 ...

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated ''Lancs'') is a ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Cumbria to the north, North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire to the east, Greater Manchester and Merseyside to the south, and the Irish Sea to ...

, England.

History

Fisherman's Friend was originally developed by

pharmacist A pharmacist, also known as a chemist in English in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth English, is a healthcare professional who is knowledgeable about preparation, mechanism of action, clinical usage and legislation of medications in ...

James Lofthouse in 1865 to relieve various respiratory problems suffered by

fishermen A fisherman or fisher is someone who captures fish and other animals from a body of water, or gathers shellfish. Worldwide, there are about 38 million commercial and subsistence fishers and fish farmers. Fishermen may be professional or recr ...

working in the extreme conditions of the northern deep-sea fishing areas. Though he developed it as an extremely strong liquid remedy containing

menthol Menthol is an organic compound, specifically a Monoterpene, monoterpenoid, that occurs naturally in the oils of several plants in the Mentha, mint family, such as Mentha arvensis, corn mint and peppermint. It is a white or clear waxy crystallin ...

and

eucalyptus oil Eucalyptus oil is the generic name for distilled oil from the leaves of ''Eucalyptus'', a genus of the plant family Myrtaceae, mostly native to Australia but cultivated worldwide. Eucalyptus oil has a history of wide application, as a pharmace ...

, Lofthouse later made the liquid into small lozenges, which were easier to transport and administer. According to the manufacturer, the fishermen began to refer to the lozenges as "friends", hence the name. The company expanded its reach after the 1963 marriage of Doreen and Tony Lofthouse, a grandson of the founder, following which Doreen became a director; it transitioned from direct sales to stocking by retailers and subsequently spread abroad, initially to Norway in 1974, and different flavours were added to appeal to regional tastes. The shape of the lozenges was reportedly based on the buttons of a dress worn by Mrs Lofthouse. British prime minister

Margaret Thatcher Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher (; 13 October 19258 April 2013), was a British stateswoman who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990 and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of th ...

is said to have used the product when her throat became strained from public speaking. French president

Emmanuel Macron Emmanuel Jean-Michel Frédéric Macron (; born 21 December 1977) is a French politician who has served as President of France and Co-Prince of Andorra since 2017. He was Ministry of Economy and Finance (France), Minister of Economics, Industr ...

uses them too: "He finds his energy in ''les Fisherman's'', those lozenges which rip your throat out. He keeps them in his pockets and in the car-seats. When speaking publicly, he needs water, some slices of lemon and a small dish of Fisherman's. During the Presidential campaign, he was reported to have devoured crates of them, delivered to his campaign headquarters." The lozenges are relatively unchanged since their creation. The original paper packets later became foil-lined and packaged in a cardboard carton. Lofthouse of Fleetwood has won the Queen's Award to Industry for Export Achievement on three occasions.

Availability

Fisherman's Friends are available in a variety of flavours. Some flavours are

sugar-free A sugar substitute or artificial sweetener, is a food additive that provides a sweetness like that of sugar while containing significantly less food energy than sugar-based sweeteners, making it a zero-calorie () or low-calorie sweetener. Ar ...

, for which the bags are striped.

Containing sugar

* Original Extra Strong (called

Eucalyptus ''Eucalyptus'' () is a genus of more than 700 species of flowering plants in the family Myrtaceae. Most species of ''Eucalyptus'' are trees, often Mallee (habit), mallees, and a few are shrubs. Along with several other genera in the tribe Eucalyp ...

in Germany) – White pack *

Aniseed Anise (; '), also called aniseed or rarely anix, is a flowering plant in the family Apiaceae native to the eastern Mediterranean region and Southwest Asia. The flavor and aroma of its seeds have similarities with some other spices and herbs, ...

– Gold pack * Mint – Green pack

Sugar-free

* Original Extra Strong (called Eucalyptus in Germany) – White and blue pack *

Lemon The lemon (''Citrus'' × ''limon'') is a species of small evergreen tree in the ''Citrus'' genus of the flowering plant family Rutaceae. A true lemon is a hybrid of the citron and the bitter orange. Its origins are uncertain, but some ...

– White and yellow pack *

Blackcurrant The blackcurrant (''Ribes nigrum''), also known as black currant or cassis, is a deciduous shrub in the family Grossulariaceae grown for its edible berries. It is native to temperate parts of central and northern Europe and northern Asia, w ...

– White and dark purple pack *

Mint Mint or The Mint may refer to: Plants * Lamiaceae, the mint family ** ''Mentha'', the genus of plants commonly known as "mint" Coins and collectibles * Mint (facility), a facility for manufacturing coins * Mint condition, a state of like-new ...

– White and light green pack *

Apple An apple is a round, edible fruit produced by an apple tree (''Malus'' spp.). Fruit trees of the orchard or domestic apple (''Malus domestica''), the most widely grown in the genus, are agriculture, cultivated worldwide. The tree originated ...

– White, green and orange pack (only in Indonesia) *

and

Cinnamon Cinnamon is a spice obtained from the inner bark of several tree species from the genus ''Cinnamomum''. Cinnamon is used mainly as an aromatic condiment and flavouring additive in a wide variety of cuisines, sweet and savoury dishes, biscuits, b ...

– White and mid-green, or white and moss green, or white, green and orange pack *

Salmiak Ammonium chloride is an inorganic chemical compound with the chemical formula , also written as . It is an ammonium salt of hydrogen chloride. It consists of ammonium cations and chloride anions . It is a white crystalline salt that is highly s ...

– White and black pack *

Cherry A cherry is the fruit of many plants of the genus ''Prunus'', and is a fleshy drupe (stone fruit). Commercial cherries are obtained from cultivars of several species, such as the sweet '' Prunus avium'' and the sour '' Prunus cerasus''. The na ...

– White and dark red pack *

Mandarin Mandarin or The Mandarin may refer to: Language * Mandarin Chinese, branch of Chinese originally spoken in northern parts of the country ** Standard Chinese or Modern Standard Mandarin, the official language of China ** Taiwanese Mandarin, Stand ...

and

Ginger Ginger (''Zingiber officinale'') is a flowering plant whose rhizome, ginger root or ginger, is widely used as a spice and a folk medicine. It is an herbaceous perennial that grows annual pseudostems (false stems made of the rolled bases of l ...

, or Spicy Mandarin, or Mandarin and Grapefruit, or Mandarin, or Orange Spice – White and dark orange pack *

Grapefruit The grapefruit (''Citrus'' × ''paradisi'') is a subtropical citrus tree known for its relatively large, sour to semi-sweet, somewhat bitter fruit. The flesh of the fruit is segmented and varies in color from pale yellow to dark red. Grapefru ...

– White and coral pack * Sweet

Liquorice Liquorice ( Commonwealth English) or licorice (American English; see spelling differences; ) is the common name of ''Glycyrrhiza glabra'', a flowering plant of the bean family Fabaceae, from the root of which a sweet, aromatic flavouring is ...

– White and brown pack * Tropical – White and amber pack *

Spearmint Spearmint (''Mentha spicata''), also known as garden mint, common mint, lamb mint and mackerel mint, is native to Europe and southern temperate Asia, extending from Ireland in the west to southern China in the east. It is naturalized in many othe ...

– White and teal pack *

Citrus ''Citrus'' is a genus of flowering trees and shrubs in the family Rutaceae. Plants in the genus produce citrus fruits, including important crops such as oranges, mandarins, lemons, grapefruits, pomelos, and limes. ''Citrus'' is nativ ...

– White and lime green pack *

Honey Honey is a sweet and viscous substance made by several species of bees, the best-known of which are honey bees. Honey is made and stored to nourish bee colonies. Bees produce honey by gathering and then refining the sugary secretions of pl ...

and Lemon – White and beige pack * Sweet Lime – White and yellow to light green pack * Raspberry – White and dark pink pack * Mixed Berries – White, red and purple pack * Sage – White and light purple pack (only in Germany) *

and Raspberry – White, dark pink and black pack (only in Denmark, Finland, Sweden and Norway) *

Cola Cola is a Carbonation, carbonated soft drink flavored with vanilla, cinnamon, citrus essential oil, oils, and other flavorings. Cola became popular worldwide after the American pharmacist John Stith Pemberton invented Coca-Cola, a trademarked br ...

- White and Brown pack

Chocolate Mint

Chocolate Mint flavours: * Chocolate Mint * Chocolate Mint Cherry * Chocolate Mint Orange * Chocolate Mint Salted Caramel

Other flavours of sweets

* Pro Fresh from Fisherman's Friend ** Vanilla Mint ** Peppermint ** Strawberry ** Blueberry ** Lemon And Lime ** Melon ** Orange

Notes

References

External links

* (for the UK) {{Traditional British sweets British confectionery Throat lozenges British brands Fleetwood 1865 introductions Liquorice (confectionery) Brand name confectionery