Choc-Ola is an American chocolate beverage that was formulated in the 1940s by Harry Normington, Sr. from

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

. Choc-Ola was based out of Indianapolis from 1944 until 1977, when Normington sold the brand to Moxie Industries. The Indianapolis plant had a large, white and black spotted cow on a white pole, located at the south end of the main parking lot. This was to inform the public that their product was milk-based. After Moxie, Choc-Ola was owned by various companies, the last of which was

Dr Pepper Snapple Group Dr Pepper Snapple Group (also called Dr. Pepper/7up Inc.) was an American multinational soft drink company based in Plano, Texas, and as of July 2018 it is a business unit of the publicly traded conglomerate Keurig Dr Pepper. Formerly Cadbury S ...

in 2009, which retired the product. In early 2010, the owner of the Rock-Cola '50s Café, Dan Iaria, in Indianapolis secured the trademark and began selling Choc-Ola again. On March 21, 2011, it was announced that an agreement was made with Prairie Farms to produce and distribute Choc-Ola through

South Bend, Indiana South Bend is a city in and the county seat of St. Joseph County, Indiana, on the St. Joseph River near its southernmost bend, from which it derives its name. As of the 2020 census, the city had a total of 103,453 residents and is the fourt ...

-based Martin's Super Markets, a regional 21-store chain. Prairie Farms announced later that year that they planned to eventually distribute Choc-Ola in 17 states in individual-sized bottles and half-gallon jugs, primarily at grocery stores and convenience stores.

Pete Rose partnership

In 1978,

Pete Rose Peter Edward Rose Sr. (born April 14, 1941), also known by his nickname "Charlie Hustle", is an American former professional baseball player and manager. Rose played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1963 to 1986, most prominently as a membe ...

, a well-known sports figure of his era, contacted Choc-Ola in an attempt to partner with them. Rose and Choc-Ola launched a separate chocolate beverage, officially endorsed by Rose, called "Pete", assuming that his popularity at the time would make a Rose-endorsed beverage a successful business venture. However, per Rose's contract, he was prohibited from making any unauthorized advertising reference to the Cincinnati Reds, including being shown in his Reds ball cap. This hampered the success of the Pete beverage, and the short-lived drink was shelved almost as quickly as it was conceived.

References

External links

choc-ola.com
{{Chocolate beverages Chocolate drinks American drinks