A drink mix is a
processed-food product, designed to mix usually with water to produce a beverage resembling fruit juice or soda in flavor. Another type of drink mix is represented by products that are mixed into milk. It is traditionally made in powdered form (powdered drink mix), but liquid forms are also seen now.
History
The first juice-type powdered drink mix was Poly Pop, invented by Paul Stevens Hollis in 1922. He sold it as part of the Big State Company until its acquisition by
General Foods
General Foods Corporation was a company whose direct predecessor was established in the United States by Charles William Post as the Postum Cereal Company in 1895.
The company changed its name to "General Foods" in 1929, after several corporate ...
in 1953.
Ingredients
![Productos de cacao y chocolate en polvo](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/61/Productos_de_cacao_y_chocolate_en_polvo.jpg)
While some are made with sugar, or sold unsweetened, the products are often made with artificial sweeteners such as
aspartame
Aspartame is an artificial non-saccharide sweetener 200 times sweeter than sucrose and is commonly used as a sugar substitute in foods and beverages. It is a methyl ester of the aspartic acid/phenylalanine dipeptide with the trade names ...
,
sucralose
Sucralose is an artificial sweetener and sugar substitute. The majority of ingested sucralose is not broken down by the body, so it is noncaloric. In the European Union, it is also known under the E number E955. It is produced by chlorination of ...
,
cyclamates or
saccharin
Saccharin (''aka'' saccharine, Sodium sacchari) is an artificial sweetener with effectively no nutritional value. It is about 550 times as sweet as sucrose but has a bitter or metallic aftertaste, especially at high concentrations. Saccharin is u ...
, and often include
artificial flavor
A flavoring (or flavouring), also known as flavor (or flavour) or flavorant, is a food additive used to improve the taste or smell of food. It changes the perceptual impression of food as determined primarily by the chemoreceptors of the gus ...
s and colors. Some of the products include vitamins or other nutrients.
The products are variously marketed to children, athletes, bodybuilders, dieters, or as a vitamin supplement. Some brands are only sold as drink mixes, while some beverage companies produce powdered versions of their products, as do
Gatorade
Gatorade is an American brand of sports-themed beverage and food products, built around its signature line of sports drinks. Gatorade is currently manufactured by PepsiCo and is distributed in over 80 countries. The beverage was first develop ...
and
Ocean Spray. Another form of drink mix is represented by products mixed into milk, such as
malted milk
Malted milk or malt powder is a powdered gruel made from a mixture of malted barley, wheat flour, and evaporated whole milk powder. The powder is used to add its distinctive flavor to beverages and other foods, but it is also used in baking ...
,
Nesquik
Nesquik is a brand of food products made by Swiss company Nestlé. In 1948, Nestlé launched a drink mix for chocolate-flavored milk called Nestlé Quik in the United States; this was released in Europe during the 1950s as ''Nesquik''.
Since 1 ...
,
Ovaltine
Ovaltine (also known by its original name Ovomaltine) is a brand of milk flavoring product made with malt extract (except in the blue packaging in the United States), sugar (except in Switzerland), and whey. Some flavors also have cocoa. Ovalt ...
, and
Carnation Instant Breakfast.
Drink mix brands
*
Nesquik (mix)
Nesquik is a brand of food products made by Swiss company Nestlé. In 1948, Nestlé launched a drink mix for chocolate-flavored milk called Nestlé Quik in the United States; this was released in Europe during the 1950s as ''Nesquik''.
Since ...
*
Burple
Burple is a discontinued drink mix that was packaged in an expandable accordion-like plastic container. There were two sizes of Burple available, a lunchbox-size (8 oz) and a full-size (64 oz) container. It was distributed by Sundale Beverages of ...
*
Country Time
Country Time is a brand of non-carbonated lemon-flavored drink mix and soft drink. The powdered mix is produced by Kraft Foods.
History
Country Time lemonade flavor drink mix was introduced in 1975 by General Foods. Over the years various ot ...
*
Crystal Light
Crystal Light is a line of powdered and artificially sweetened beverage mixes produced by Kraft Heinz. It was first sold in 1982 to a test market and released to the public in April 1984. General Foods, a now defunct company, were the original se ...
(primarily to female dieters)
*
Emergen-C
Emergen-C is an effervescent, powdered drink mix vitamin supplement manufactured by Alacer Corp. The Emergen-C product line was introduced in 1978. Alacer was established as a private company in 1972, focusing on vitamin supplements containing v ...
(vitamin supplement, with sugar or unsweetened)
*
Flavor Aid
Flavor Aid is a non-carbonated soft drink beverage made by The Jel Sert Company in West Chicago, Illinois. It was introduced in 1929. It is sold throughout the United States as an unsweetened, powdered concentrate drink mix, similar to Kool-Ai ...
(primarily marketed to children)
*
Funny Face
''Funny Face'' is a 1957 American musical romantic comedy film directed by Stanley Donen and written by Leonard Gershe, containing assorted songs by George and Ira Gershwin. Although having the same title as the 1927 Broadway musical ''Funny F ...
, (primarily marketed to children)
*
Kool-Aid
Kool-Aid is an American brand of flavored drink mix owned by Kraft Heinz based in Chicago, Illinois. The powder form was created by Edwin Perkins in 1927 based upon a liquid concentrate called Fruit Smack.
History
Kool-Aid was invented by ...
(primarily marketed to children)
*
Fruty
*
Milo (drink)
*
Tang
Tang or TANG most often refers to:
* Tang dynasty
* Tang (drink mix)
Tang or TANG may also refer to:
Chinese states and dynasties
* Jin (Chinese state) (11th century – 376 BC), a state during the Spring and Autumn period, called Tang (唐) b ...
*
MiO
Mio or MIO may refer to: shortened form of Mioritic Shepherd dog or Mioritic sheepdog; a Romanian mountain dog.
Places
* Mio, Michigan, a town in the US
Music
* ''Mío'', 2011 album by David Bustamante
* "Mío", 1992 song by Paulina Rubio
Bra ...
*
Cedevita
Cedevita d.o.o. is a Croatian company which produces a wide range of teas, instant drinks, and dietetic products. A notable owner of the company was the Croatian pharmaceutical company Pliva d.d. Since 2001 Cedevita has been part of the Atlantic ...
*
Bolero
Bolero is a genre of song which originated in eastern Cuba in the late 19th century as part of the trova tradition. Unrelated to the older Spanish dance of the same name, bolero is characterized by sophisticated lyrics dealing with love. It has ...
*
G Fuel
G Fuel (stylized in all uppercase as G FUEL), is a brand of caffeinated drink mix sold by Gamma Labs, based in West Babylon, New York. It is marketed as a supplement for gaming that allegedly boosts focus and quickens reaction time.
G Fuel was ...
See also
*
Instant coffee
Instant coffee is a beverage derived from brewed coffee beans that enables people to quickly prepare hot coffee by adding hot water or milk to coffee solids in powdered or crystallized form and stirring. Instant coffee solids (also called sol ...
*
Instant tea
Instant tea is a powder in which water is added, in order to reconstitute it into a cup of tea. The earliest form of instant tea was developed in the United Kingdom in 1885. A patent was granted for a paste made of concentrated tea extract, sug ...
*
Powdered milk
Powdered milk, also called milk powder, dried milk, or dry milk, is a manufactured dairy product made by evaporating milk to dryness. One purpose of drying milk is to preserve it; milk powder has a far longer shelf life than liquid milk and do ...
*
Squash (drink)
Squash (sometimes known as cordial in British English, dilute in Hiberno English, and diluting juice in Scottish English) is a non-alcoholic beverage with concentrated syrup used in beverage making. It is usually fruit-flavoured, made from fru ...
References
{{Instant foods
Soft drinks
Dietary supplements
Instant foods and drinks
Powdered drink mixes