The image of a dead lion with bees swarming over the body has been removed from the containers of Lyle’s Golden Syrup. The tin is the most iconic packaging. The logo was unchanged for 150 years and it is an illustration of a biblical story from Judges 14 because the founder of Lyle’s Golden Syrup was Abram Lyle, a religious man who launched the product in 1881. His business was Abram Lyle & Sons Sugar Refiners.
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Samson slays lion with bare hands
The logo’s origin is in the story of Samson in the book of Judges in which he kills a lion with his bare hands – his strength being God-given – and later takes honey from a beehive that had been created inside the lion’s carcass. It is speculated that the beehive might have been created by the bees around a rib cage, if you believe that the story has some factual veracity.
Quote from the bible which is the story which it appears inspired the illustration
Then Samson went down to Timnah, and he saw a woman in Timnah, one of the daughters of the Philistines. So, he came back and told his father and mother, “I saw a woman in Timnah, one of the daughters of the Philistines; so now, get her for me as a wife.” But his father and his mother said to him, “Is there no woman among the daughters of your relatives, or among all our people, that you go to take a wife from the uncircumcised Philistines?” Yet Samson said to his father, “Get her for me, because she is right for me.” 4However, his father and mother did not know that this was of the LORD, for He was seeking an occasion against the Philistines. And at that time the Philistines were ruling over Israel. Then Samson went down to Timnah with his father and mother, and came as far as the vineyards of Timnah; and behold, a young lion came roaring toward him. And the Spirit of the LORD rushed upon him, so that he tore it apart as one tears apart a young goat, though he had nothing in his hand; but he did not tell his father or mother what he had done. So he went down and talked to the woman; and she looked pleasing to Samson. When he returned later to take her, he turned aside to look at the carcass of the lion; and behold, a swarm of bees and honey were in the body of the lion. 9So he took out the honey on his hands and went on, eating as he went. When he came to his father and mother, he gave some to them and they ate it; but he did not tell them that he had took the honey out of the body of the lion.
Judges 14 in The Bible
The lion symbolized a mighty enemy (just as the Philistines were for the people of Israel) that was defeated by Samson with God’s help – demonstrating that God’s plan could not be thwarted.
Logo incorporated biblical reference
Within the logo of the dead lion surrounded by bees there were the words: “Out of the strong came forth sweetness”. I looks like Adam Lyle was keen to knit into his logo some words from the bible and hint at the strength that his product might bring consumers and that strength brings a better life perhaps. Just guessing.
This has been removed and, in its place, there is a friendly looking lion and a single bee.
The new logo is apparently on squeezy bottles of golden syrup. The change has also been made at the top of the Lyle’s brand website.
The overall packaging has remained virtually unchanged over the product’s long history of 150 years.
As I recall, the lion is the only cat mentioned in the bible. The lion was distributed in many places and countries where it is now no longer due centuries of human persecution either directly or indirectly.
Update: the Church of England have objected to the branding change as it removes the Christian context.
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Why the change?
Why was the logo changed? The Times has not made a suggestion. I will. They cleaned it up because it was a bit too real and gruesome. They made the logo more cheerful and modern. This is probably because there is an increased sensitivity towards wildlife conservation nowadays as a result of global warming and the gradual desctruction of the planet. Plus the lion’s population size has greatly diminished and is entering a phase where this iconic animal will be declared endangered by the IUCN Red List.
