Brioschi () is an Italian company founded in 1907 as Achille Brioschi & C. to "produce and make commerce of chemicals, liquors and similars"; in 1914 the society was quoted on the

Milan stock exchange Borsa Italiana, based in Milan, is the Italian stock exchange. It manages and organises domestic market, regulating procedures for admission and listing of companies and intermediaries and supervising disclosures for listed companies.italy24.ils ...

. The company's origins date back to 1880 when Achille Antonio Brioschi (1860–1942), who had served as an apprentice at various manufacturers of chemical-pharmaceutical products and

eau de Cologne Eau de Cologne (; German: ''Kölnisch Wasser'' ; meaning "Water from Cologne"), or simply cologne, is a perfume originating from Cologne, Germany. Originally mixed by Johann Maria Farina (Giovanni Maria Farina) in 1709, it has since come to be a ge ...

s, began the small-scale production of the so-called ''effervescente Brioschi'': a powder which, when dissolved in water, produced a refreshing drink. It was not a medicine, nor was it marketed as one, although the idea for it derived from effervescent products based on magnesium citrate that had originated in the United Kingdom. The business grew and the product found various export markets of which the first was

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

. Subsidiaries were established in the United States in 1894 and in the Swiss Canton Ticino in 1897. In 1907 the business was transformed into the company Achille Brioschi & C. The popular

analgesic An analgesic drug, also called simply an analgesic (American English), analgaesic (British English), pain reliever, or painkiller, is any member of the group of drugs used to achieve relief from pain (that is, analgesia or pain management). It ...

''cachet Brioschi'', based on the ''kalmine'' of Paul Métadier of

Tours Tours ( , ) is one of the largest cities in the region of Centre-Val de Loire, France. It is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Indre-et-Loire. The Communes of France, commune of Tours had 136,463 ...

, was introduced in 1911; other product lines included Lysoform-based disinfectants, the ''Johann Maria Farina'' eau de Cologne, and anti-

malaria Malaria is a mosquito-borne infectious disease that affects humans and other animals. Malaria causes symptoms that typically include fever, tiredness, vomiting, and headaches. In severe cases, it can cause jaundice, seizures, coma, or death. S ...

l drugs. In 1914 the company was quoted on the

. The company's signature product was an effervescent antacid using

sodium bicarbonate Sodium bicarbonate (IUPAC name: sodium hydrogencarbonate), commonly known as baking soda or bicarbonate of soda, is a chemical compound with the formula NaHCO3. It is a salt composed of a sodium cation ( Na+) and a bicarbonate anion ( HCO3−) ...

as its active agents sold in a blue bottle. An offshoot, the American company Brioschi Pharmaceuticals, LLC, continued to market the effervescent antacid in the United States but the business failed and was acquired by another company called Brioschi Pharmaceuticals International, LLC in 2010. The new owners moved the headquarters and factory from Fair Lawn, New Jersey to

Syracuse, New York Syracuse ( ) is a City (New York), city in and the county seat of Onondaga County, New York, Onondaga County, New York, United States. It is the fifth-most populous city in the state of New York following New York City, Buffalo, New York, Buffa ...

in 2011 in an attempt to restart the business, but filed involuntary bankruptcy in October, 2013. The narrator of Umberto Eco's novel ''

The Mysterious Flame of Queen Loana ''The Mysterious Flame of Queen Loana'' (original Italian title: ''La Misteriosa Fiamma della Regina Loana'') is a novel by the Italian writer Umberto Eco. It was first published in Italian in 2004, and an English language translation by Geoffrey ...

'' describes the use of ''Effervescente Brioschi''—two distinct powders are used—to transform ordinary tap water into a home-made mineral water which reminds him of Vichy water.Umberto Eco, ''The Mysterious Flame of Queen Loana'', trans. by Geoffrey Brock (Random House, 2006), p. 121–22.

References

{{Reflist Pharmaceutical companies established in 1907 Companies of Italy Real estate companies established in 1907 Italian companies established in 1907