Nesbitt's is a brand of orange-flavored

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 ...

sold in the United States. Nesbitt's was originally produced by the Nesbitt Fruit Products Company of

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

. The company also produced several other flavors of soft drink under the Nesbitt's brand and other brand names, including Nesbitt's

grape A grape is a fruit, botanically a berry, of the deciduous woody vines of the flowering plant genus ''Vitis''. Grapes are a non- climacteric type of fruit, generally occurring in clusters. The cultivation of grapes began perhaps 8,000 years ago, ...

strawberry The garden strawberry (or simply strawberry; ''Fragaria × ananassa'') is a widely grown hybrid species of the genus '' Fragaria'', collectively known as the strawberries, which are cultivated worldwide for their fruit. The fruit is widely ap ...

and

peach The peach (''Prunus persica'') is a deciduous tree first domesticated and cultivated in Zhejiang province of Eastern China. It bears edible juicy fruits with various characteristics, most called peaches and others (the glossy-skinned, non-fu ...

-flavored sodas.

History

The Nesbitt's Fruit Products Company was founded in 1924, named after its founder Hugh S. Nesbitt. The Nesbitt's brand debuted in 1927, initially as part of the company's line of soda fountain products. Nesbitt's began bottling Nesbitt's orange and several other flavors in the late 1930s, putting it in direct competition with established market-leader

Orange Crush Crush is a brand of carbonated soft drinks owned and marketed internationally by Keurig Dr Pepper, originally created as an orange soda, Orange Crush. Crush competes with Coca-Cola's Fanta. It was created in 1911 by beverage and extract chemist ...

.Nesbitt's Orange Facts
/ref> Nesbitt's became the US market leader of orange soda pop during the late 1940s and 1950s, with advertisements featuring then-unknown model

Marilyn Monroe Marilyn Monroe (; born Norma Jeane Mortenson; 1 June 1926 4 August 1962) was an American actress. Famous for playing comedic " blonde bombshell" characters, she became one of the most popular sex symbols of the 1950s and early 1960s, as wel ...

in 1946, and proclaiming itself to be the "Largest selling bottled orange drink in the world".Nesbitt's Orange Soda: Bright Star Went Black, Now Twinkles Dimly
/ref> Nesbitt's own brand of orange beverage was surpassed in popularity by

Fanta Fanta is an American-owned German brand of fruit-flavored carbonated soft drinks created by Coca-Cola Deutschland under the leadership of German businessman Max Keith. There are more than 200 flavors worldwide. Fanta originated in Germany as ...

in the late 1960s and then faded in popularity. In 1972, the company was sold to

The Clorox Company The Clorox Company (formerly Clorox Chemical Company) is an American global manufacturer and marketer of consumer and professional products. As of 2020 the Oakland, California based company had approximately 8,800 employees worldwide. Net sales ...

, and in April 1975, the bottling operation was sold to Moxie Industries, Inc. (later Monarch Beverage) of Atlanta.

Resurrection and legacy

Nesbitt's continued to be owned by Moxie Industries through the late 1970s and the 1980s while use of the Nesbitt's brand (for non-bottling usage) was passed along to several companies from 1976 through 1998, including ownership by

Borden Inc. Borden, Inc., was an American producer of food and beverage products, consumer products, and industrial products. At one time, the company was the largest U.S. producer of dairy and pasta products. Its food division, Borden Foods, was based in C ...

in the late 1980s. In 1999, Big Red, Limited of

Waco, Texas Waco ( ) is the county seat of McLennan County, Texas, United States. It is situated along the Brazos River and I-35, halfway between Dallas and Austin. The city had a 2020 population of 138,486, making it the 22nd-most populous city in the ...

, the parent company that owns rights to the Big Red soft drink brand, bought the Nesbitt's USA trademark from the

Monarch Beverage Company The Monarch Beverage Company Inc is a diversified, international beverage company based in Atlanta, Georgia. The company's CEO is Jacques Bombal. The company was founded in 1965 by Frank Armstrong. Monarch Beverage Company aimed to establish it ...

under its North American Beverages Products division, which also includes

NuGrape NuGrape is a brand of grape-flavored soda pop. The NuGrape brand was created in 1906, first bottled in 1921, and by April 1933, The National NuGrape Company was founded in Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of ...

. Although Big Red, Ltd. only actively promotes its Nesbitt's California Honey Lemonade drink, the company licenses the Nesbitt's soda brand to several small independent bottling companies throughout the US. Retro soda producer Orca Beverage manufactures a bottled version of Nesbitt’s Orange made with cane sugar and natural flavoring. In addition to orange, strawberry and peach Nesbitt's sodas are also available. The group

Negativland Negativland is an American experimental music band which originated in the San Francisco Bay Area in the late 1970s. They took their name from a Neu! track, while their record label (Seeland Records) is named after another Neu! track. The core ...

put out the "Nesbitt's Lime Soda Song" on their 1987 release ''Escape From Noise''; written and sung by Richard Lyons, it was about a man who lost his temper after "a bee flew into" his soda and "we had to throw it away". Internationally, Monarch Beverages owns and distribute Nesbitt's sodas.

Variants

(available outside U.S. only) *Nesbitt's Orange *Nesbitt's Apple *Nesbitt's Pineapple *Nesbitt's Sweet Red *Nesbitt's Grape *Nesbitt's Black Currant *Nesbitt's Still Honey Lemonade *Nesbitt's Still Kiwi Strawberry *Nesbitt's Splash Lemon Cola

References

External links

Nesbitt's Orange Memorabilia Page
from June 8, 2006. {{citrus sodas Orange sodas American soft drinks Monarch brands Cuisine of the Western United States