Everything Is Schwell

The English have been drinking something with the un-British name of Schweppes ever since a Swiss by the name of Schweppe went to Britain and began to make an artificial mineral water in 1794. Schweppes quinine tonic water, introduced in the 1860s, followed the flag of empire around the world.

But it was not until ten years ago that it arrived in force in the U.S., where it has become highly popular as a drink mixer. Schweppes's overseas sales, in fact, will match sales in Britain this year for the first time and, in what amounts to a celebration, the firm is introducing a new drink in the U.S.: Bitter Lemon.

Top of the Pyramid. Though it is probably the world's oldest soft-drink firm, Britain's Schweppes Ltd. is a greater mix than most non-Britons realize.

In all, it markets 40 product groups, from Rose's Lime Juice, lemon barley squash and phosferine tonic wine to jelly, jams, canned foods and Christmas pudding. But tonic is the mainstay, and Sir Frederick Hooper, a onetime botany student who became the firm's managing director in 1948, has combined shrewd marketing and sophisticated advertising to make it a mass seller in more than 70 nations. Bitter Lemon, which already outsells tonic in Britain-Schweppes people like to say that it has schweppt the island-is a concoction containing ground lemons, quinine and secret essence; Schweppes hopes that it will be used as a year-round mixer or as an "esoteric soft drink" for adults.

Schweppes keeps an eagle eye on its 150 franchised bottlers around the world (61 in the U.S.), sending them the essence and forcing them to airship samples of ingredients and products to England for testing. At the same time, the company carefully oversees advertising and leans toward stylish copy. "We start at the top of the pyramid," says one executive, "because we know the levels underneath will follow the people immediately above."

Engaging Walrus. Schweppes is pleased by the American publicity success of bearded Commander Whitehead, who actually spends most of his time as the busy head of Schweppes (U.S.A.), but it carefully varies its approach in other countries. It concentrates on cool sophisticated elegance for France, where tonic with a twist of lemon has won wide popularity as an aperitif. It emphasizes straight quality in Spain, where the haughty wealthy are sure of their status in a stratified class system and would resent any implication that one could raise his social standing by drinking tonic.

Schweppes had gotten soft when Hooper took over, and the company refers to the new spirit that he brought as "Hoopervescence." Under his rule, profits after taxes went from $756,000 in 1953 to $4.8 million last year. But the "engaging walrus"-as the Observer once called him-will not be around much longer. At 70, Hooper next New Year's Dav will step down in favor of Harol Watkinson, 53, a former Tory Defense Minister. Watkinson's name will be a severe test for the Schweppervescence men. In any case, things are going so well for the company that he is not expected to make any schweeping changes.

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