Nichols plc traces its origins back to 1908, when John Noel Nichols invented the fruit-flavoured cordial that remains the company's flagship brand, Vimto. Nichols was then a herb and medicine wholesaler based at 19 Granby Row, Manchester, and Vimto was first marketed as a health drink under the name 'Vim Tonic' by J.N. Nichols & Co. The brand name was later shortened to Vimto. In 1912 the drink was registered as a medicine.

In 1910, when the company's initial premises had become too small, Nichols moved to a warehouse at Chapel Street, Salford, then to Old Trafford (1927) and finally (1971) to a plant in Wythenshawe, Manchester. The company offices came to be based in Newton-Le-Willows, Merseryside, where its registered offices remain.

Vimto made its first venture into international markets when it was exported to India in the 1920s. In more recent years the brand has been successful in the Middle East (with over 80 years' history in the region) and various African countries.

Vimto was first marketed as a hot drink in 1932. A diet version was launched in 1987.

Nichols became a limited company in 1929, under the name J.N.Nichols & Company Ltd. A further change of name and legal status came when the business became J.N. Nichols (Vimto) PLC, before it adopted the name Nichols plc in 2000.

In 2005 Nichols acquired the brand 'Panda Pops' from Hall & Woodhouse. Also in the 2000s, the company built on the success of the Vimto brand to market new products with the same flavouring, such as Vimto chews.

As of 2018 the company operates two types of businesses: firstly the sale of Vimto and other brands via supermarkets and associated outlets in more than 85 countries globally. The second is its soft drink dispense operation in the UK, operating under the name Cabana, the UK's largest independent supplier of dispensed soft drinks. Vimto is manufactured under license in various countries around the world.