Nichols, the maker of purple squash Vimto, describes itself as a “diversified soft drinks business”. Given that its other products include the brightly hued Slush Puppie, “unicorn watermelon” flavour Starslush and orange Sunkist, perhaps the “diversity” part comes from the range of lurid colours on offer to consumers.
In any case, the Aim-listed Nichols has had to contend with a string of difficulties in recent years. Some have been felt across the industry — such as soaring expenses, the UK sugar tax, Covid and the ensuing carbon dioxide shortages, and the cost of living crisis — but others have been more company specific. Nichols struck a profit warning in 2019 over the impact of a soft drink levy in Saudi Arabia and the UAE,
