Diet Rite is an American brand of no-calorie
soft drinks that was originally distributed by the
RC Cola
RC Cola (short for Royal Crown Cola) is an American brand of cola invented by Claud A. Hatcher in 1905.
Royal Crown Ginger Ale was the first product of the RC Cola line, and it referred to the original ingredient: ginger. More ingredients w ...
company.
History
Diet Rite was introduced in 1958 and initially released as a
dietetic
A dietitian, medical dietitian, or dietician is an expert in identifying and treating disease-related malnutrition and in conducting medical nutrition therapy, for example designing an enteral tube feeding regimen or mitigating the effects of ca ...
product, but was introduced nationwide and marketed to the general public as a healthful beverage in 1962. The original formula was sweetened with
cyclamate
Cyclamate is an artificial sweetener. It is 30–50 times sweeter than sucrose (table sugar), making it the least potent of the commercially used artificial sweeteners. It is often used with other artificial sweeteners, especially saccharin; ...
and
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 ...
.
[DietRite.com - Behind the Flavor]
Retrieved September 15, 2012. After cyclamate was banned in 1969, it was removed from the product.
NutraSweet
The NutraSweet Company is an American nutrient company that produces and markets NutraSweet Neotame, their trademarked brand name for the high-intensity sweetener neotame.
In 2021, NutraSweet was placed 43rd by FoodTalks' list of Top 50 Global S ...
brand
aspartame was added upon its introduction to the market, and in 1987 the saccharin was replaced entirely with the complete elimination of
caffeine
Caffeine is a central nervous system (CNS) stimulant of the methylxanthine class. It is mainly used recreationally as a cognitive enhancer, increasing alertness and attentional performance. Caffeine acts by blocking binding of adenosine to ...
. In the 1990s, several fruit-flavored varieties of Diet Rite were introduced.
In 2000, the line was reformulated yet again, this time to replace aspartame with
Splenda
Splenda is a global brand of sugar substitutes and reduced-calorie food products. While the company is known for its original formulation containing sucralose, it also manufactures items using natural sweeteners such as stevia, Siraitia grosveno ...
brand
sucralose and Sunnet brand
acesulfame potassium. It became the first major diet soda in the United States to use neither aspartame nor saccharin as a sweetener. In 2005, "Pure Zero" was added to the name, and a cherry cola flavor was introduced in 2006.
Today it is owned by and distributed by
Keurig Dr Pepper
Keurig Dr Pepper Inc., formerly Green Mountain Coffee Roasters (1981–2014) and Keurig Green Mountain (2014–2018), is a publicly traded American beverage and coffeemaker conglomerate with headquarters in Burlington, Massachusetts. Formed i ...
.
Advertising
In the early 1960s
The Paris Sisters
The Paris Sisters were a 1960s American girl group from San Francisco, California, United States, best known for their work with producer Phil Spector.
Career
The group consisted of lead singer Priscilla Paris (January 4, 1941 – March 5, 20 ...
sang a jingle for a Diet Rite television commercial, with the line "Stay thin with the best-tasting cola of all!".
References
External links
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{{Diet sodas
American cola brands
Diet drinks
Keurig Dr Pepper brands
Products introduced in 1958