Postobón, S.A. ( ) is the largest

Colombia Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Car ...

n beverage company, and also one of the largest in South America. The company has a wide portfolio of products that includes

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 ...

fruit juice Juice is a drink made from the extraction or pressing of the natural liquid contained in fruit and vegetables. It can also refer to liquids that are flavored with concentrate or other biological food sources, such as meat or seafood, such as ...

bottled water Bottled water is drinking water (e.g., well water, distilled water, mineral water, or spring water) packaged in plastic or glass water bottles. Bottled water may be carbonated or not. Sizes range from small single serving bottles to large car ...

tea Tea is an aromatic beverage prepared by pouring hot or boiling water over cured or fresh leaves of '' Camellia sinensis'', an evergreen shrub native to East Asia which probably originated in the borderlands of southwestern China and northe ...

, an energy drink, and

coffee Coffee is a drink prepared from roasted coffee beans. Darkly colored, bitter, and slightly acidic, coffee has a stimulant, stimulating effect on humans, primarily due to its caffeine content. It is the most popular hot drink in the world. S ...

. It has created soft drinks such as "Manzana Postobón", an

apple An apple is an edible fruit produced by an apple tree (''Malus domestica''). Apple fruit tree, trees are agriculture, cultivated worldwide and are the most widely grown species in the genus ''Malus''. The tree originated in Central Asia, wh ...

-flavored soda, and its most popular "Colombiana", a cola champagne. Additional flavors of Postobón soda beyond apple include

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, ...

orange Orange most often refers to: *Orange (fruit), the fruit of the tree species '' Citrus'' × ''sinensis'' ** Orange blossom, its fragrant flower *Orange (colour), from the color of an orange, occurs between red and yellow in the visible spectrum * ...

pineapple The pineapple (''Ananas comosus'') is a tropical plant with an edible fruit; it is the most economically significant plant in the family Bromeliaceae. The pineapple is indigenous to South America, where it has been cultivated for many centuri ...

, and

lemon The lemon (''Citrus limon'') is a species of small evergreen trees in the flowering plant family Rutaceae, native to Asia, primarily Northeast India (Assam), Northern Myanmar or China. The tree's ellipsoidal yellow fruit is used for culin ...

. Postobón has expanded its product line by including bottled water and boxed juices; the latter are currently sold under the brandname ''Hit''.

History

On October 11, 1904, Gabriel Posada and Valerio Tobón (the company's name being a

portmanteau A portmanteau word, or portmanteau (, ) is a blend of wordsMedellín Medellín ( or ), officially the Municipality of Medellín ( es, Municipio de Medellín), is the second-largest city in Colombia, after Bogotá, and the capital of the department of Antioquia. It is located in the Aburrá Valley, a central re ...

, their first product, called "Cola-Champaña", became very famous in bars, stores, social clubs, and homes. This product was distributed in a wagon pulled by a donkey; because of geography the company could not distribute its products throughout all cities and towns. At this stage, Posada and Tobón decided to open two factories; the first was opened in 1906 in

Manizales Manizales () is a city in central Colombia. It is the capital of the Caldas Department, Department of Caldas, and lies near the Nevado del Ruiz volcano. Currently, the city is the main center for the production of Colombian coffee and an importa ...

and the second in

Cali Santiago de Cali (), or Cali, is the capital of the Valle del Cauca department, and the most populous city in southwest Colombia, with 2,227,642 residents according to the 2018 census. The city spans with of urban area, making Cali the second ...

the same year. Since that time, Postobón products have appeared throughout Colombia. In 1917, the company launched a new product, "Agua Cristal" which is bottled water. In 1918, Postobón released a brand of

carbonated water Carbonated water (also known as soda water, sparkling water, fizzy water, club soda, water with gas, in many places as mineral water, or especially in the United States as seltzer or seltzer water) is water containing dissolved carbon dioxide gas, ...

, "Bretaña." In 1986 Postobón started sponsorship of the Postóbon team, a professional

cycling team A cycling team is a group of cycle sport, cyclists who join a team or are acquired and train together to compete in bicycle racing, bicycle races whether amateur or professional – and the supporting personnel. Cycling teams are most important i ...

. This was following the successes of the first Colombian professional cycling team -

Café de Colombia Café de Colombia () was a Colombian based professional road bicycle racing Cycling team active from 1983 to 1990. The team was sponsored by the Colombian coffee growers Federación Nacional de Cafeteros de Colombia. History The team came into ex ...

. In 1986 the team competed in the

Tour de France The Tour de France () is an annual men's multiple-stage bicycle race primarily held in France, while also occasionally passing through nearby countries. Like the other Grand Tours (the Giro d'Italia and the Vuelta a España), it consists ...

. The team lasted for ten years. Since 1998 to this date, Postobón sponsors football club

Atlético Nacional Atlético Nacional S. A., best known as Atlético Nacional, is a Colombian professional association football, football club based in Medellín. The club is one of only three clubs to have played in every first division tournament in the countr ...

(replacing Leona beer). Since 2010, Postobón has been the official sponsor of all the Colombian soccer leagues.

External links

Corporate website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Postobon Drink companies of Colombia Companies based in Medellín Companies listed on the Colombia Stock Exchange Food and drink companies established in 1904 Food and drink companies of Colombia Colombian brands Soft drinks 1904 establishments in Colombia