Kia-Ora is a concentrated fruit soft drink brand, made by Atlantic Industries (a
subsidiary
A subsidiary, subsidiary company or daughter company is a company owned or controlled by another company, which is called the parent company or holding company. Two or more subsidiaries that either belong to the same parent company or having a s ...
of the
Coca-Cola
Coca-Cola, or Coke, is a carbonated soft drink manufactured by the Coca-Cola Company. Originally marketed as a temperance drink and intended as a patent medicine, it was invented in the late 19th century by John Stith Pemberton in Atlanta ...
Company) and licensed for manufacturing in Ireland and up to 2019 in the
UK by Coca-Cola Enterprises Ltd. The juice drink is sold in a concentrated state.
History
The brand-name is taken from ''
kia ora
Kia ora (, approximated in English as or ) is a Māori-language greeting which has entered New Zealand English. It translates literally as "have life" or "be healthy", wishing the essence of life upon someone, from one speaker to the other ...
'', a
Māori language
Māori (), or ('the Māori language'), also known as ('the language'), is an Eastern Polynesian language spoken by the Māori people, the indigenous population of mainland New Zealand. Closely related to Cook Islands Māori, Tuamotuan, and ...
greeting which has entered
New Zealand English
New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created.
New or NEW may refer to:
Music
* New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz
Albums and EPs
* ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013
* ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, ...
. The first Kia-Ora was a
lemon squash sold by Arthur Gasquoine in
Sydney
Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...
,
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
, in 1903. The brand was bought by the Dixon family in the same year; the first factory was established by Roland Dixon in
Prahran
Prahran (), also pronounced colloquially as Pran, is an inner suburb in Melbourne, Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia, 5 km south-east of Melbourne's Melbourne central business district, Central Business District, located within the City ...
in
Melbourne
Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...
. The original factory chimney still exists and is now a heritage-listed building. The first bottle off the production line is still in the hands of the Dixon family, as is the original recipe for Chilli Cordial, one of the first flavours launched, alongside orange and lemon. Kia-Ora was launched in Great Britain in 1917 in orange and lemon flavours.
The success of Kia-Ora caused the Dixon family to expand the range of its drinks with other flavours: orange mixed fruit, raspberry, and pear are examples of the expanding range. No-added-sugar variants were also created. Kia-Ora prospered throughout the 20th century. The World affected the brand only slightly in terms of production. The brand remained popular amongst children aged 3-10 in Australia and in the United Kingdom. From 1953, Kia-Ora was advertising with full-colour posters. In 1961, Kia-Ora was sold to the
Campbell Soup Company
Campbell Soup Company, trade name, doing business as Campbell's, is an American processed food and snack company. The company is most closely associated with its flagship canned soup products; however, through mergers and acquisitions, it has gro ...
of the US.
The brand became popular in the U.K in the 1970s. It was widely available in cinemas, ready-to-drink in cartons, paired with an advertisement spoofing the
Columbia Pictures
Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. is an American film production studio that is a member of the Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group, a division of Sony Pictures Entertainment, which is one of the Big Five studios and a subsidiary of the mu ...
logo. In 1982, Kia-Ora launched a colourful, animated advertising campaign, directed by Oscar Grillo of Klacto Animations, which used the jingle "We all adore a Kia-Ora", and featured a child in a straw hat, a dog called Fedora who served the drink, and several crows which pursued the boy for a drink, with the boy responding with "it's too orangey for crows". Later promotions included
Caramba's song "Fido"; the jingle was referred to in the
Spaced
''Spaced'' is a British television sitcom created, written by and starring Simon Pegg and Jessica Stevenson, and directed by Edgar Wright, about the (comedic and sometimes farcical and action-packed) misadventures of Daisy Steiner and Tim Bis ...
episode "Gone". The advertisements attracted mild criticism in later years, because the boy looked similar to a
golliwog
The golliwog, also spelled golliwogg or shortened to golly, is a doll-like character – created by cartoonist and author Florence Kate Upton – that appeared in children's books in the late 19th century, usually depicted as a type of rag ...
. The brand was refreshed in 1987, with a series of advertisements directed by
Geoff Dunbar
Geoff Dunbar is an English animator and director known for his animated music video ''Rupert Bear and the Frog Song'' for Sir Paul McCartney and ''The World of Peter Rabbit and Friends'' from the stories by Beatrix Potter. He championed a hand-s ...
, featuring redesigned characters, the introduction of the boy's chubby father, and new variations on the jingle.
The success of the Kia-Ora brand subsequently declined, overtaken by rival juice producers such as
Robinsons. Coca-Cola eventually discontinued all variations except sugar-free orange and sugar-free mixed fruit.
In spring 2019 Coca-Cola discontinued production in the UK. Production continues in Ireland.
Variations
Current
* Kia-Ora Orange (no
added sugar
Added sugars or free sugars are sugar carbohydrates (caloric sweeteners) added to food and beverages at some point before their consumption. These include added carbohydrates (monosaccharides and disaccharides), and more broadly, sugars natural ...
)
* Kia-Ora Mixed Fruit (no added sugar)
* Kia-Ora Blackcurrant
Discontinued
* Kia-Ora Orange, Pineapple and Passion Fruit
* Kia-Ora Orange (with added sugar)
* Kia-Ora Mixed Fruit
* Kia-Ora Pear & Blackcurrant
* Kia-Ora Raspberry
See also
*
Soft drink
A soft drink (see § Terminology for other names) is a drink that usually contains water (often carbonated), a sweetener, and a natural and/or artificial flavoring. The sweetener may be a sugar, high-fructose corn syrup, fruit juice, a su ...
*
Coca-Cola
Coca-Cola, or Coke, is a carbonated soft drink manufactured by the Coca-Cola Company. Originally marketed as a temperance drink and intended as a patent medicine, it was invented in the late 19th century by John Stith Pemberton in Atlanta ...
References
{{Coca-Cola brands
Coca-Cola brands
Products introduced in 1903
Juice brands