 an advertisement c. 1960s for Tarax Soft Drinks | |
| Type | Independent company |
|---|---|
| Manufacturer | Cadbury Schweppes |
| Country of origin | Australia |
Tarax is an Australian brand of soft drink, available in several flavours, and sold in cans and bottles.
The name Tarax, itself was the brand-name of an independent soft drink manufacturer and bottler, from the state of Victoria.
George Pethard Snr. (1855–1929), an English-born storeman based in Numurkah, Victoria, established a business selling a herbal soft drink described as a "non-alcoholic beer" [1] made without yeast, known as "Taraxale". "Tarax" derived from "taraxacum", the Latin name for the dandelion. [2]
George Pethhard Jnr. (1885–1961) joined his father's business in 1898 and moved to Bendigo in 1902, establishing the business behind "Taraxville", his home in the suburb of Golden Square. [2] [3] The business was expanded between the Wars, with Tarax Bars being established throughout Victoria. After World War II, the company restricted itself to selling conventional carbonated soft drink.
In the 1950s Tarax won an Australian Institute of Food Science and Technology Award for its co-production of a flame spin sterilizer. [4]
Tarax was a marketing innovator, including sponsorship of the long-running Tarax Happy Show on television from 1957, compered by Happy Hammond and later, "Uncle" Norman Swain, and the development of new packaging, such as the steel can. [3] Their mascot Tommy Tarax was a character who appeared on bottle tops and advertising displays, and on TV as a puppet with ventriloquist Ron Blaskett.
Producing a wide range of flavours including lemonade, orange, lime ("Limelite"), kola, lemon, pineapple, raspberry ("Crimson"), root beer, bitter lemon, "Solo", and "Panda", and the American "Dixi-Cola", [3] Tarax was at its peak in the 1960s and was one of the top-selling soft drink brands in Victoria.
A Tarax jingle that was part of an advertising campaign associating the brand with Australian Rules Football was :
All the Top Men
Drink the Popular Ten,
Tarax Top Ten flavours.
Be a Top Man,
Drink a bottle or can.
Tarax Top Ten!
Also
Oranges turn into Tarax,
Lovely lovely Tarax.
Oranges turn into Tarax,
The drink from the top of the tree.
They did can UDL pre-mix alcoholic drinks at the Huntingdale site for many years and had an unsuccessful attempt to produce a flavoured UHT milk drink in a can.
Cadbury Schweppes took over Tarax in 1972, but continued to market Tarax soft drinks as a regional brand to complement its national brands.
In the 1970s the brand re-invented itself, with the dropping of several flavours and the introduction of "Black Label" in lemonade and orange. [3] An extensive advertising campaign that featured actress Abigail. Later Pamela Gibbons, also of Number 96, performed in the Black Label commercials.
While Tarax's popularity has waned since the 1970s, it has still remained on the market, albeit with far lower prominence, relegated primarily to supermarket shelves.
Ginger ale is a carbonated soft drink flavoured with ginger. It is consumed on its own or used as a mixer, often with spirit-based drinks. There are two main types of ginger ale. The golden style is credited to the Irish doctor Thomas Joseph Cantrell. The dry style, a paler drink with a much milder ginger flavour, was created by Canadian John McLaughlin.
Shandy is beer or cider mixed with a lemon or a lemon-lime flavored beverage. The citrus beverage, often called lemonade, may or may not be carbonated. The proportions of the two ingredients are adjusted to taste but are usually half lemonade and half beer/cider, resulting in a lower ABV for the finished drink. Shandies are popular in the UK, Europe, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, and Canada.
Cream soda is a sweet soft drink. Generally flavored with vanilla and based on the taste of an ice cream float, a wide range of variations can be found worldwide.
Lemonade is a sweetened lemon-flavored drink.
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.
Solo is an Australian, lemon-flavoured, carbonated soft drink currently manufactured under license by Asahi Breweries. First launched by Tarax in 1968 and fell to Cadbury after a takeover in 1974 its lemon flavour is inspired by Australian pubs' traditional and popular non alcoholic 'pub squash' beverage. The drink's recognition amongst the Australian population has been attributed to the brand's long lasting "Solo Man" marketing campaign, featuring numerous Australian actors. Solo and Asahi Holdings operates in the soft drink manufacturing industry along with various other brands such as Coca-Cola. The usual 375mL can of Solo contains 43.1 grams of sugar. There are and have been in the past, various versions of Solo available. These include Solo Zero, which uses artificial sweetener instead of sugar and there has also been a lemon and lime flavoured variant of the original recipe.
Banta Soda, or Banta, also Goli Soda or Goti Soda and Fotash Jawl, is a popular carbonated lemon or orange-flavoured soft drink sold in India since the late 19th century in a distinctly shaped iconic Codd-neck bottle. The pressure created by the carbonated liquid seals the bottle by forcing a glass marble up into the neck of the bottle where it snugly locks into a rubber gasket. Opening the bottle by pressing on the marble thus releasing the pressurised gas is seen to be a fun experience. The drink is easily available at street-sellers, known as bantawallahs, at prices ranging from ₹5 (6.3¢ US) – ₹30 (38¢ US). The drink is sold in glass tumblers and plastic cups, and used to be served in kulhars.
R. White's is a British brand of a carbonated lemonade, which is produced and sold in the United Kingdom by Britvic. Robert and Mary White produced the first R. White's lemonade in Camberwell, south London, in 1845. The White Family took over H. D. Rawlings Ltd. in 1891, the year that it was incorporated—a merger which made White's the biggest soft drinks company in London and the south-east—and then R. White & Sons Ltd. was itself incorporated in 1894. The company was taken over by Whitbread in the 1960s, and was later absorbed by Britvic in 1986, when Britvic and Canada Dry Rawlings Ltd. merged.
Polar Beverages is a soft drink company based in Worcester, Massachusetts. It is a manufacturer and distributor of sparkling fruit beverages, seltzer, ginger ale, drink mixers, and spring water to customers in the United States. It is the largest independent soft-drink bottler in the United States.
The PoP Shoppe is a soft drink retailer originating in 1969 at London, Ontario, by Gary Shaw in Canada. The PoP Shoppe avoided using traditional retail channels, selling its pop through franchised outlets and its own stores in refillable bottles in 24-cartons.
Bundaberg Brewed Drinks Pty Ltd is an Australian family-owned business that brews non-alcoholic beverages. Based in Bundaberg, Queensland, the company exports to over 61 countries across the globe and is most known for ginger beer and other carbonated beverages.
Kirks is a soft drink manufacturer founded in Queensland, Australia in 1865, producing a selection of soft drink flavours.
Hooper's Hooch is an alcopop that was most popular during the mid-1990s. The name Hoopers refers to William Hooper, inventor of the hot water bottle and manufacturer of lemonade in the 1840s whose trademark was owned by Burton-on-Trent-based brewer Bass. Launched in Britain in 1995 by Bass as an alcoholic lemonade, it attained immediate popularity, leading to the development of orange- and blackcurrant-flavoured versions.
Two Dogs was a ready-to-drink beverage that was first introduced in Australia in 1993 and went on to become available throughout the world. It was a lemon flavoured alcoholic beverage that is widely considered to have been the "world’s first brewed alcoholic lemonade", paving the way for similar products such as Hooper's Hooch and Mike's Hard Lemonade.
Sherbet is a fizzy, sweet powder, usually eaten by dipping a lollipop or liquorice, using a small spoon, or licking it from a finger.
Tru Blu Beverages is an Australian soft drink producer. 1 in 6 beverages purchased by Australian consumers through supermarkets is made by Tru Blu Beverages. Employing 400 people nationally, they are an important manufacturer in the Australian business sector, and are the No. 3 non-alcoholic, non-dairy beverage manufacturer in Australia. The beverages are sold nationally through leading supermarkets, corner stores, petrol and convenience outlets. The company has state of the art factories in 3 states and offices in each major capital city.
Fritz-kola is a soft drink made in north Germany and shipped to many nations in the European Union. It has a relatively high caffeine content and is sold in glass bottles with labels which were originally black and white, using the faces of the two founders in the logo.
Pictures at the State Library of Victoria
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