Horlicks, India's largest selling health food drink, up for adoption

Horlicks, the largest selling health food drink in India with more than 50 per cent market share by volume, has been put on the block by GlaxoSmithKline to fund the buyout of its $13 billion stake in its joint venture with Novartis.

Founded 145 years ago in 1873 by siblings William and James Horlick, it was aimed at infants and invalids, and was initially branded Diastoid.It was patented as the world's first malted milk drink on June 5, 1883 by William Horlicks.

Horlicks is the only brand which has a mountain range named after it - the Horlicks Mountains on Ross Ice Shelf in Antarctica, thanks to a donation of $30,000 made by William Horlick to Richard Byrd's polar expedition, which was the first by air.

India's first taste of Horlicks was after World War 1, when soldiers returning from the frontlines in Europe brought it back, particularly in Punjab, which was the first place where Horlicks opened its manufacturing plant.India, in fact, changed the way Horlicks was made - the original formula, which used cow's milk, was soon modified to use buffalo milk.

It was among the first few brands to use Bollywood celebrities to endorse its brands, and one particular name which stands out is Amitabh Bachchan, who lent his voice for the radio commercials of Horlicks during the 1970s.