Lucozade to help drive Vodafone McLaren Mercedes performance

Issued: London, UK

Ahead of this weekend’s Singapore Grand Prix, Lucozade – the UK’s leading sports and energy drink – today announces an innovative performance partnership with the Vodafone McLaren Mercedes Formula 1 team.

In addition to branding on the car and drivers’ overalls, Lucozade will supply Jenson Button, Lewis Hamilton and Vodafone McLaren Mercedes with their range of sports nutrition products that will play an integral role in preparation, performance and recovery in one of the most physically and mentally demanding sports in the world.

Jenson Button said:
“As a grand prix driver and an athlete, I completely understand the need to keep my body refreshed and hydrated before, during and after exercise. If you’re pushing yourself to the limit, then your body needs to refuel – and Lucozade products are a great way to achieve that.

“Lucozade will really give the Vodafone McLaren Mercedes team the reassurance to tackle the stress and physical strain of races in some of the world’s hottest countries with renewed effort, confidence and dedication.

“I’m really looking forward to working with Lucozade to help them develop their range of fitness and isotonic drinks to cope with the extreme demands of Formula 1.”

Lewis Hamilton added:
“I think this partnership with Lucozade will be fantastic for the team. Everyone within our team needs to be fresh and sharp in order to operate at their peak: when you’re working in busy, hot environments and you’re pushing yourself to the limit, it’s vital that you keep yourself healthy and hydrated.

“Hydration in sport is important – and that’s why an isotonic drink such as Lucozade is a natural fit for Vodafone McLaren Mercedes.”

Lucozade’s drinks and products will be available to the whole team and Lucozade and Vodafone McLaren Mercedes are also working together to formulate a new bespoke product to meet the specific requirements of Formula 1.

Vodafone McLaren Mercedes team doctor Aki Hintsa said:
“People often think of the unique demands placed on the human body during a grand prix, but few consider the overall human performance that’s needed to maintain the strength and spirit of a team of almost 100 individuals as they travel across the world for nine months of the year.

“Whether it’s spending long days working outdoors in the cold temperatures of the European winter, or spending race weekends in hot and humid countries like Malaysia, Singapore and India, effective physical and mental co-ordination through hydration is vital.

“Accordingly, our performance partnership with Lucozade will see the team provided with its leading and research-led range of sport drinks for different environmental and physiological requirements, which contain both electrolytes and carbohydrates.”

This latest partnership with Vodafone McLaren Mercedes reinforces Lucozade’s unrivalled commitment to fuelling British sporting performance, which includes long-standing associations and partnerships within top-flight football (Premier League, FA, Arsenal FC, Chelsea FC, Liverpool FC), running (25 events including the Virgin London Marathon), and Olympic sport (UKA, British Boxing, British Basketball, Mo Farah, Phillips Idowu, Louis Smith). 

“As an innovative and forward-thinking performance brand, we’re delighted to be working with the world’s leading Formula 1 team,” adds Suzy Smith marketing director at Lucozade. “We take great pride in working with those performing at the highest level and will establish a close working relationship with Vodafone McLaren Mercedes so that we can continue to develop products that help maximise sporting performance at all levels. We look forward to helping enhance performance in the future.”

GlaxoSmithKline – one of the world’s leading research-based pharmaceutical and healthcare companies – is committed to improving the quality of human life by enabling people to do more, feel better and live longer.  For further information please visit www.gsk.com

For more information on Lucozade and its partnership with McLaren, please contact:

Cautionary statement regarding forward-looking statements
Under the safe harbor provisions of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, GSK cautions investors that any forward-looking statements or projections made by GSK, including those made in this announcement, are subject to risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially from those projected. Factors that may affect GSK' s operations are described under 'Risk Factors' in the 'Business Review' in the company' s Annual Report on Form 20-F for 2010.

Notes to Editors

• On 14 September, GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) announced that it had formed a long-term strategic partnership with McLaren Group.  Under the agreement, McLaren Group will share its widely acknowledged leading capabilities in engineering, technology, analytics, and strategy modelling, which it has developed over many years in its core business of Formula 1 motor sport, to help deliver world class performance across GSK’s global businesses.  The partnership will initially focus on GSK Manufacturing, Research and Development (R&D) and Consumer Healthcare. 
• GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Healthcare is one of the world’s largest consumer healthcare products companies.  Its more than 30 well-known
  brands encompass over-the-counter medicines; NiQuitin® and Panadol®, oral healthcare products Aquafresh^® and Sensodyne^®; and nutritional healthcare drinks Lucozade®, Horlicks®, Ribena® and Maxinutrition® . For further information please visit www.gsk.com
• Informed Sport - All Lucozade Sport product is registered with and batch tested by Informed Sport. Informed Sport is a supplement testing and certification programme which ensures athletes that products carrying this mark have been regularly tested for prohibited substances in sport (such as WADA listed prohibited substances) and manufactured to strict GMP standards. Responsible supplement companies have made INFORMED-SPORT part of their existing quality assurance systems to ensure their products are safer for athletes to use. The informed sport certification programme was established in 2007 by one of the world’s leading doping control laboratories, HFL Sport Science, although HFL has been testing supplements since 2002.

• Lucozade Information

  • Lucozade is the second largest soft drink in the UK
    Source: Total Coverage MAT TY Data to 09.07.11

  • Lucozade is the eighth largest grocery brand in the UK
    Source: Grocer top 100 FMCG2011