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Sunkist was first licensed by Sunkist Growers to the General Cinema Corporation, the leading independent bottler of Pepsi-Cola products at the time. The soft drink was the idea of Mark Stevens, who foresaw the potential based on market research which indicated that, worldwide, orange was the third-best-selling soft drink flavor (largely due to Fanta).
After extensive R&D during 1977 and early 1978, in which research was conducted on taste, color and carbonation levels, Sunkist made a grand introduction in New York by franchising it to The Coca-Cola Bottling Company of New York City, where Edward F. O'Reilly was president. At the time of introduction, Sunkist Soft Drinks had only five key employees: Mark Stevens, President; Peter Murphy, VP Sales; Dr. John Leffingwell, VP R&D; Ray Sissom, VP Finance; and Jim DeDreu, NE Regional Manager. It went national soon thereafter by being franchised mainly to leading Coca-Cola and Pepsi-Cola bottlers. The advertising slogan was "fun, sun and the beach" using TV and radio commercials with the Beach Boys' hit song "Good Vibrations" as the brand's theme. In 1980, Sunkist Orange Soda became the #1 orange soda in the US and the tenth-best-selling soft drink. Unlike many other competing orange sodas, Sunkist contains caffeine (19 mg per 12 fl oz).[2] In 2010, there was a consumer recall after a batch was accidentally mixed with six times the amount of caffeine, sickening consumers.[3]
In late 1984, Sunkist Soft Drinks was sold to Del Monte. From late 1986 until 2008, it was produced by Cadbury Schweppes under license through its Cadbury Schweppes Americas Beverages subsidiary. Following the demerger of Cadbury Schweppes Americas Beverages from Cadbury Schweppes, it is now produced by Keurig Dr Pepper in the US. Sunkist is still the most popular orange soda in the United States.[citation needed]
Sunkist (as a carbonated soft drink) was sold in the UK by Nichols plc, the maker of Vimto soft drinks. It is sold in Australia by Asahi Beverages,[4] the Australian formulation is caffeine free. In Canada, a caffeine-free version of the orange drink is marketed as C'Plus.[5] The package indicates that there is a small amount of Sunkist juice.
In the Philippines, it was sold by Cosmos Bottling until 2001, when San Miguel Corporation acquired Cosmos and sold its brands to Coca-Cola Bottlers Philippines, Inc. As of 2013, Sunkist is sold by Asia Brewery.[citation needed]
Keurig Dr Pepper makes a variety of Sunkist flavors. In addition to Orange, there is Diet Orange, Grape, Strawberry, Cherry Limeade, Pineapple, Lemonade, Diet Lemonade, Peach, Fruit Punch, Pink Lemonade, Strawberry Lemonade, Berry Lemonade, Watermelon Lemonade[6] and Orange Mango.[1]
Slogans
"Good Vibrations." (1978 – early 1980s, 2018–2020)
Pruitt, Bettye H. (1994) "The Making of Harcourt General" Harvard Business School Press, pp.106–107, 153, 173. ISBN0-87584-509-6. Google Book Search. Retrieved on March 28, 2008. Note– the individual mentioned as Mark Sobell is also known as Mark Stevens.
1984 Sunkist ad featuring the "Good Vibrations" theme song, YouTube video "" Retrieved on March 27, 2008.
1984-85 Sunkist ad featuring the "Good Vibrations" theme song, YouTube video "" Retrieved on May 12, 2008.
Cadbury Schweppes purchases Canada Dry and Sunkist soft drinks from RJR (July 1986), New York Times (online) "" Retrieved on March 27, 2008.
RC Cola is a cola-flavored carbonated beverage owned in the U.S. by U.S. coffee and beverage company Keurig Dr Pepper, and owned outside the U.S. by RC Global Beverages, Inc.
Yoo-hoo is an American brand of chocolate-flavored beverage that was created by Natale Olivieri in Garfield, New Jersey, in 1928 and is currently manufactured by Keurig Dr Pepper. As of 2019, the drink is primarily made from water, high-fructose corn syrup and whey.
Orangina is a lightly carbonated beverage made from carbonated water, 12% citrus juice, as well as 2% orange pulp. Orangina is sweetened with sugar or high fructose corn syrup and in some markets with artificial sweetener. Natural flavors are also added.
Crush is a brand of carbonated soft drinks owned and marketed internationally by Keurig Dr Pepper, originally created as an orange soda, Orange Crush. Crush competes with Coca-Cola's Fanta. It was created in 1911 by beverage and extract chemist Neil C. Ward. Most flavors of Crush are caffeine-free.
Dr Pepper/Seven Up, Inc. was a soft-drink manufacturing company based in Plano, Texas. It was created by the merger of Dr Pepper, Inc. and The 7 Up Company on May 19, 1986. The merger was a result of the independent bailouts of both companies and the subsequent Federal Trade Commission blockage of a Dr Pepper merger with Coca-Cola. The DPSU merger resulted in the breakup of international branding rights held by the two independent companies.
Schweppes is a beverage brand that originated in the Republic of Geneva; it is made, bottled and distributed worldwide by multiple international conglomerates, depending on licensing and region, that manufacture and sell soft drinks. Schweppes was one of the earliest forms of a soft drink, originally being regular soda water created in 1783. Today, various drinks other than soda water bear the Schweppes brand name, including various types of lemonade and ginger ales.
Canada Dry is a brand of soft drinks founded in 1904 and owned since 2008 by the American company Dr Pepper Snapple. For over 100 years, Canada Dry has been known mainly for its ginger ale, though the company also manufactures a number of other soft drinks and mixers. Although it originated in Canada, Canada Dry is now produced in many countries such as the United States, Panama, Mexico, Chile, Costa Rica, Japan, and in a number of countries of Europe and the Middle East.
Hires Root Beer was an American brand of root beer that was manufactured by Keurig Dr Pepper. Introduced in 1876, it was one of the longest continuously made soft drinks in the United States.
Sun Drop is a citrus-flavored soft drink produced by Keurig Dr Pepper with a yellowish-green color. Among soft drinks, it is known for its high caffeine content. Orange juice is an ingredient in the drink, and remaining pulp matter from the orange juice provides some of the soft drink's taste and appearance. Sun Drop competes primarily against the Coca-Cola Company's Mello Yello and PepsiCo's Mountain Dew.
Orange soft drinks are carbonated orange drinks.
Kick was a citrus-flavored soft drink product by Royal Crown Company, Inc. introduced to the market in 1965.
Peñafiel is a Mexican mineral water brand currently manufactured by Grupo Peñafiel, the Mexican subsidiary of Keurig Dr Pepper.
Nesbitt's is a brand of orange-flavored soft drink sold in the United States. Nesbitt's was originally produced by the Nesbitt Fruit Products Company of Los Angeles, California. The company also produced several other flavors of soft drink under the Nesbitt's brand and other brand names, including Nesbitt's grape, strawberry and peach-flavored sodas.
The Coca-Cola Beverages Northeast, formerly known as Coca-Cola Bottling Company of Northern New England, is a bottler of Coca-Cola, Dr Pepper, and Canada Dry soft drinks in the New England region as well as almost the entirety of upstate New York. The Coca-Cola Company does not own an interest, as the company is 100% owned by Japan-based Kirin Brewery, who until 2018 also owned the rights to the Moxie soft drink nationwide.
Dr Pepper Snapple Group was an American multinational soft drink company based in Plano, Texas. Since July 2018, it is a business unit of the publicly-traded conglomerate Keurig Dr Pepper.
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