Vimto is a sweet drink created in 1908 in the centre of Manchester by Noel Nichols of Blackburn, Lancashire (1883–1966). He was a wholesaler of herbs, spices and medicines. There was a market for soft drinks because of the temperance movement and the 1908 Licensing Act. It was first sold under the name Vim Tonic, which he shortened to Vimto in 1912. It was registered as a health tonic or medicine, and then re-registered in 1913 as a cordial. In 1910 the business moved to a warehouse at Chapel Street, Salford, then to Old Trafford (1927) and finally (1971) to a state of the art plant in Wythenshawe.^[1]

From the 1990s to 2003, Vimto print advertisements used the cartoon character Purple Ronnie, along with slightly rude poems by Giles Andreae, the creator of Purple Ronnie. In 2003, Purple Ronnie was dropped, and a new creative direction was adopted, revolving around the benefits of 'Shlurpling the Purple'. This, in turn, led to the launch in 2006 of Billy and his Dad's Pants – a modern-day morality story in which, despite turning up at the swimming pool with his Dad's pants in the middle of his rolled up towel, Billy wins out with ingenuity and humour. The theme tune 'Dad's Pants' become something of a cult classic, and was based on the Loudon Wainwright III song, "Dead Skunk". A sculpture entitled "A Monument to Vimto" (1992), carved out of an oak tree by Kerry Morrison, is on Granby Row in central Manchester. The sculpture commemorates the fact that Vimto was originally produced on the site.