FUIC Voted Best Australian Ice Coffee here at JM!

• Author: johnnymestizo
• Filed under: Australiana, Food, Bar & Bistro
• Date: May 26,2008
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Well the poll is out - after a solid two months Farmers Union Iced Coffee has been voted No 1.

• Farmers Union Iced Coffee 26% of all votes

• Farmers Union Feel Good Iced Coffee 17% of all votes (light)
• Parmalat Paul’s Iced Coffee 17% of all votes
• Browne’s Iced Coffee Chill 9% of all votes
• Parmalat Ice Break 9% of all votes

In South Australia FUIC Rules

This iced coffee cocktail is legendary in SA. It is part of the daily routine for many. Having one to start the day at smoko or at lunch to power you on through out the day. I can tell you this is true as I am one of the legions of screaming FUIC fans. Don’t believe me then check out the 827 strong following on facebook!

Back in ‘02 FUIC was Australia’s largest selling flavoured milk with a consumption of over 27 million litres per year. I remember when I would cruise the Adelaide back roads in my Holden (I’m sure I’ll outgrow this habit one day) and pull into a Macca’s drive-thru to simply order a FUIC.

Selected McDonald’s, Hungry’s and KFC’s stock them as an extra beverage item for insertion into your meal deal upon request. Awesome.

Farmers Union Iced Coffee outsells Coca-Cola in South Australia, making it the only place in the world where a milk drink outsells a cola product, and one of the few places that Coca-Cola is not the most popular bottled beverage.

Where is FUIC distributed?

South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria, New South Wales, Queensland (up to Mackay) and Northern Territory. How do I get Farmers Union Iced Coffee in Perth?

Urban Dictionary - FUIC

Definition: Farmer’s Union Iced Coffee.
Example: “Get Me a FUIC from the shop.”

Love it: 13

Hate it: 5

C’mon FUIC fans! Go to definition and vote YES!

What’s in this Amazing Drink?

Notice how caffeine is not specified above? Then I found this on Wiki (Iced Coffee) - Most commercial varieties of Australian iced coffee have 2-3 times the caffeine of cola.

So I headed over to the owner of Farmers Union Iced Coffee and found out the following:

All flavoured milks made by National Foods contain less than 65 milligrams (mg) of caffeine per 250mL serve, which is less than the caffeine content of 1 cup of coffee (which contains approximately 110mg per 250ml).

Fat content is a downside as discussed on a FUIC post from Blurb from the Burbs.

Despite FUIC telling us that it’s ‘Reduced Fat Iced Coffee’, it has nearly 3g of fat per 100ml, or roughly 18g of fat per drink. Now that’s more than one Mars Bar and I sure as hell ain’t going to waste my precious fat intake on a mere drink.

What are the FUIC varieties?

Since 23-OCT-06 in SA Strong (strong caffeine/coffee taste) and Light (low fat) versions of the iced coffees. This is to add to their Feel Good range of low-fat/sugar milk drinks coffee and chocolate flavours.

The feel good variety took the title as my favourite iced coffee and chocolate milk back in 2003 for myself personally. I would take a 15 minute break in the morning from my office job in CBD Adelaide. I would head back in to my Level 7 office job - Feel Good FUIC proudly in hand.

Upon heading out to the might 45 minute lunch break any meal would be complimented by another reinvigorating FUIC.

Give me 74 more photos of FUIC!

Official Adverts

The marketing campaign behind FUIC added to the superior smooth taste are the main reasons why it has been so successful. It is aimed at the working class Aussie bloke - check the ads:

FUIC - You’ll do anything for it!

Ballet for a Truck Load? When it’s a Farmers Union Iced Coffee that is Nothing!

The above advertisment features a dramatic voice-over detailing world headlines and issues but shows relatively low-key average Australian equivalents on screen. These include: • “When the wall came down” - depicts two men demolishing a wall as part of a DIY project. This relates to when the Berlin Wall was demolished • “Survived the Apollo Disaster” - shows three motorists (one consuming Iced Coffee) as their Holden Apollo is towed away after an accident. This refers to when the Apollo spacecraft crashed • “There when the bras were burnt” - shows an absent minded male watching television as a bra is burnt by an iron in the foreground. • “When Chisel broke up” - shows a construction site with a devastated builder holding two pieces of a broken chisel. Refers to when the band, Cold Chisel broke up • “Saw Cathy in Sydney in 2000” - shows one male supposedly meeting with an old friend in Sydney who is also named Cathy. Relates to Cathy Freeman winning the 400m in the Sydney Olympics • “The Children Overboard” - shows two males in a speedboat talking as their children have fallen off the back in an inflatable that is being towed. Refers to the scandal when the Howard government falsely claimed that children were thrown overboard from a boat full of asylum seekers. • “Lived through the Millenium Bug” - shows a man in a dinner suit in a sleeping bag drink an Iced Coffee while slapping a bug on his neck. Relates to the survival of mankind from the year 1999 to 2000 (aka the year 2000 problem). • “…and Trevor’s Underarm” - shows two construction workers both drinking Iced Coffee; one lifts his arm revealing his body odour and the other recoils in disgust. Refers to Trevor Chappell’s infamous underarm delivery on the last ball of a One Day Cricket International • “Strongly opposed the Bush Invasion” - shows a man cutting his neighbours overhanging bushes. Relates to the opposition of George Bush leading the invasion into Iraq This TV advertisement struck a chord with the relaxed Australian attitude when compared to the glamour of advertisements such as Coca Cola.

The Future is FUIC

According to the Australian Convenience Store News in Nov/Dec ‘07 trends commercial milk consumption, demographical statistics and the following three facts point to a fantastic fuic future.

• Iced coffee sales through convenience grew at nearly 14% last year and the segment now accounts for more than 60% of the flavoured milk in convenience market.

• Iced coffee tends to appeal to a wide audience, but is particularly popular with men aged from 16-35.

• Farmers Union Iced Coffee received the Best Australian Iced Coffee Award 2008!

FUIC is Culture

I’ll leave you with this FUIC documentary to show you the dedication of the FUIC fans out there! Enjoy