It was first produced in 1983 by Nestlé, under the Libby's brand, for consumption in the United Kingdom, and was later licensed for production in Portugal.

[7] Nestlé licensed the Um Bongo brand (still under the Libby's name) to Gerber Foods Soft Drinks Ltd in the UK and Republic of Ireland.

[15] In the late 1990s, parents complained about the amount of sugar and artificial flavourings in many children's fruit drinks,[16] which resulted in new regulations.

Most of the original ingredients were removed, with the drink being re-branded as "Um Bongo-100% juice", containing only bananas, orange and pineapple.

In comparison, the original also contained apple, lemon, passion fruit, mandarin, apricot, guava and mango.

Their earlier 1984 Kia-Ora advert established a new trend and led to them being commissioned to produce the Um Bongo spot for Leo Burnett.

Libby's Moonshine, which lasted until 1992, contained more domestic fruits, such as strawberries, raspberries, apples, blackberries and cherries.

Um Ognob contained a vitamin-enriched blend of apple, banana, apricot, orange and passion fruit juice.