Long before flavoured milk came ready-bottled from the fridge aisle, British kitchens relied on a tin of powder or a syrup bottle with a pump top to turn plain milk into something worth drinking - and both are still selling well decades on.
Nesquik: from Nestlé Quik to a kitchen staple
Nesquik was launched by Nestlé in 1948 in the US under the name Nestlé Quik, originally sold only in chocolate flavour, with strawberry and other flavours added later. The brand wasn't renamed Nesquik worldwide until the 1990s, and it's best known in the UK for its long-running bunny mascot, Quicky, who's fronted the brand's advertising since the 1970s.
Crusha: the other British milkshake staple
Where Nesquik is a powder, Crusha takes a different format entirely - a sugar syrup concentrate sold in a bottle, traditionally with a pump top that dispenses a measured shot straight into a glass of milk. It's long been a fixture of British seaside cafes and chip shops as much as home kitchens, sold in flavours like banana, strawberry, chocolate and lime, and its shelf-stable syrup format means an opened bottle lasts far longer in a cupboard than fresh milk-based drinks would.
How they're actually made
- Nesquik powder — built mainly from sugar plus cocoa powder for chocolate, or fruit flavouring and colouring for strawberry and other fruit flavours, often with added vitamins and minerals aimed at making it more appealing to parents.
- Crusha syrup — a sugar syrup base carrying concentrated flavouring and colouring, thick enough to stay separate from the milk until stirred or shaken through.
- Both rely on plain milk — neither product does anything on its own; they're designed purely to flavour and sweeten milk that would otherwise go undrunk.
Why they've never really gone away
Ready-made flavoured milk and milkshakes are now widely available in UK supermarkets, but powder and syrup formats have stayed popular for practical reasons: a tin of Nesquik or bottle of Crusha is cheaper per serving, lasts for months in a cupboard rather than days in a fridge, and remains one of the simplest ways to get a reluctant child to finish a glass of milk. That combination of cost, convenience and nostalgia has kept both brands on supermarket shelves well past the point most "flavoured drink" trends of their era have disappeared.
Frequently asked questions
What's the difference between Nesquik and Crusha?
Nesquik is a powder, mostly sugar and cocoa or fruit flavouring, stirred into milk, while Crusha is a liquid syrup concentrate that's added by the spoonful or squeezed from a pump-top bottle - both do the same job of turning plain milk into a flavoured drink, just in a different format.
When was Nesquik launched?
Nesquik was launched by Nestlé in 1948 in the US as "Nestlé Quik", originally in chocolate flavour only, and wasn't renamed Nesquik worldwide until decades later.
Why do UK households still buy milkshake powder and syrup?
Milkshake powder and syrup remain popular in the UK because they're cheap, have a long shelf life compared with ready-made milkshakes, and offer an easy way to get children drinking plain milk without needing a blender or fresh fruit.