Britvic Soft Drinks has a long and rich history that extends back to Victorian England and further. The British Vitamin Products Company - from which Britvic takes its abbreviated name - was founded in the mid-nineteenth century in the market town of Chelmsford in Essex. The company was then little more than a home business run from a chemist's shop, not unusual for a soft drinks producer of the time. Soon the company was producing all kinds of originally concocted soft drinks, including lemonades, mineral waters, tonics and non-alcoholic ales.

It wasn't until 1938 that the Britvic range of juices that we know today were first produced - thanks to Ralph Chapman, owner of the British Vitamin Products Company. Recognising that the Great Depression in the UK meant that many of his poorest customers needed an affordable source of Vitamin C, he found a way to bottle fruit juices so that they stayed fresh for longer without the addition of preservatives. His juices were sold in small glass bottles which ensured easy transportation. The idea was immediately successful but it was only in 1949 that the Britvic brand was formally launched into the marketplace.

In the years following the Second World War, Britvic went from strength to strength, building a modern factory in its hometown of Chelmsford. In 1971, the British Vitamin Product Company formally changed its name to Britvic in recognition of its leading brand's appeal. In 1986, Canada Dry Rawlings - a company formed by the merger of Bass (now IHG) and Whitbread's soft drinks interests - came together with Britvic to form Britvic Soft Drinks.