Shasta Beverages is an American soft drink manufacturer that markets a value-priced soft drink line with a wide variety of soda flavors, as well as a few drink mixers, under the brand name Shasta. The company name is derived from

Mount Shasta Mount Shasta ( Shasta: ''Waka-nunee-Tuki-wuki''; Karuk: ''Úytaahkoo'') is a potentially active volcano at the southern end of the Cascade Range in Siskiyou County, California. At an elevation of , it is the second-highest peak in the Cascades ...

in northern California and the associated Shasta Springs.

History

Shasta began as The Shasta Mineral Springs Company at the base of Mt. Shasta, California, in 1889. In 1928, the name was changed to The Shasta Water Company. It produced bottled

mineral water Mineral water is water from a mineral spring that contains various minerals, such as salts and sulfur compounds. Mineral water may usually be still or sparkling (carbonated/effervescent) according to the presence or absence of added gases. T ...

from Shasta Springs in Northern California. The water was poured into glass-lined railroad cars and shipped off for local bottling. In 1931, Shasta produced its first soft drink, a

ginger ale Ginger ale is a carbonated soft drink flavoured with ginger. It is consumed on its own or used as a mixer, often with spirit-based drinks. There are two main types of ginger ale. The golden style is credited to the Irish doctor Thomas Joseph ...

. Until the 1950s, the company's products were mainly mixers for

alcoholic drink An alcoholic beverage (also called an alcoholic drink, adult beverage, or a drink) is a drink that contains ethanol, a type of alcohol that acts as a drug and is produced by fermentation of grains, fruits, or other sources of sugar. The c ...

club soda Club soda is a manufactured form of carbonated water, commonly used as a drink mixer. Sodium bicarbonate, potassium sulfate, potassium bicarbonate, potassium citrate, or sodium citrate is artificially added to replicate constituents commonly fo ...

, and ginger ale. Shasta introduced new marketing strategies in the 1950s, which became industry standards: the packaging of soft drinks in cans, the introduction of low-calorie (i.e., “diet”) soft drinks, and the distribution of cans and bottles directly to grocers through wholesale channels. By the 1960s, Shasta was a well-known brand of sodas and mixers in most of the

western United States The Western United States (also called the American West, the Far West, and the West) is the region comprising the westernmost states of the United States. As American settlement in the U.S. expanded westward, the meaning of the term ''the We ...

and parts of the

Southwest The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A compass rose is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each sepa ...

. During the 1960s, Shasta was purchased by Consolidated Foods (later known as Sara Lee) and was renamed Shasta Beverages. In 1985, it was acquired by the

National Beverage Corp. National Beverage Corp. is an American beverage developer, manufacturer, and distributor based in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, focused on flavored soft drinks, with its most noted brands being La Croix, Shasta, and Faygo. History The company was ...

, which also owns the similarly marketed

Faygo Faygo Beverages, Inc., is a soft drink company headquartered in Detroit, Michigan. The beverages produced by the company, branded as Faygo or Faygo Pop, are distributed in the Midwestern, Mid-Atlantic, and Central Southern regions of the United ...

line of soft drinks.

Products

In addition to soft drinks, Shasta Beverages produces

and

tonic water Tonic water (or Indian tonic water) is a carbonated soft drink in which quinine is dissolved. Originally used as a prophylactic against malaria, tonic water usually has a significantly lower quinine content and is consumed for its distinctive ...

for mixing alcoholic drinks.

Soda flavors and mixers

Shasta Beverages currently produces 34 varieties of soft drinks and mixers: * Apple * Black Cherry ** Diet Black Cherry * California Dreamin' (orange creamsicle) * Club Soda *

Cola Cola is a carbonated soft drink flavored with vanilla, cinnamon, citrus oils and other flavorings. Cola became popular worldwide after the American pharmacist John Stith Pemberton invented Coca-Cola, a trademarked brand, in 1886, which was imi ...

** Diet Cola ** Cherry Cola * Creme Soda ** Diet Creme Soda * Dr. Shasta (similar to

Dr Pepper Dr Pepper is a carbonated soft drink. It was created in the 1880s by pharmacist Charles Alderton in Waco, Texas, and first served around 1885. Dr Pepper was first nationally marketed in the United States in 1904. It is now also sold in Euro ...

) ** Diet Dr. Shasta * Fiesta Punch *

Ginger Ale Ginger ale is a carbonated soft drink flavoured with ginger. It is consumed on its own or used as a mixer, often with spirit-based drinks. There are two main types of ginger ale. The golden style is credited to the Irish doctor Thomas Joseph ...

** Diet Ginger Ale * Grape ** Diet Grape * Kiwi Strawberry * Mountain Rush (similar to Mountain Dew) * Orange ** Diet Orange * Pineapple * Raspberry Creme (raspberry-vanilla) * Root Beer ** Diet Root Beer * Strawberry ** Diet Strawberry * Tiki Punch * Tonic Water * Twist (lemon-lime) ** Diet Twist ** Very Cherry Twist * Zazz (grapefruit) ** Diet Grapefruit

Discontinued flavors

These are the soft drink flavors that have been discontinued by Shasta Beverages, including a line of flavors targeting

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to viceroyalties forme ...

consumers(‡) that was introduced in 2007. * Arctic Sun * Bubble Gum * Chocolate ** Diet Chocolate * Cranberry * Fruit Punch (carbonated) * Fruit Punch (non-carbonated) * Guava-Passion Fruit *

Horchata Horchata (; ), or (), is a name given to various beverages, which are generally plant-based, but sometimes contain animal milk. In Spain, it is made with soaked, ground, and sweetened tiger nuts. In Latin America and other parts of the Americas ...

‡ (based on the Mexican drink of rice, cinnamon, and vanilla) * Iced Tea with Lemon *

Jamaica Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of His ...

‡ (

hibiscus ''Hibiscus'' is a genus of flowering plants in the mallow family, Malvaceae. The genus is quite large, comprising several hundred species that are native to warm temperate, subtropical and tropical regions throughout the world. Member species ...

flavored) * Diet Kiwi Strawberry * Lemonade * Mango * Pineapple Orange * Red Apple Soda * Red Creme Soda * Red Pop * Ruby Red Grapefruit *

Sangria Sangria (, es, sangría , pt, sangria ) is an alcoholic beverage originating in Spain and Portugal. Under EU regulations only those two Iberian nations can label their product as Sangria; similar products from different regions are diffe ...

‡ (based on the wine-citrus drink; nonalcoholic) * Strawberry Peach ** Diet Strawberry Peach *

Tamarind Tamarind (''Tamarindus indica'') is a leguminous tree bearing edible fruit that is probably indigenous to tropical Africa. The genus ''Tamarindus'' is monotypic, meaning that it contains only this species. It belongs to the family Fabaceae ...

o ‡ * Tiki Blue * Tiki Mist * Tiki Orange Mango * Vanilla Cola ** Diet Vanilla Cola * Wild Raspberry In 1993, Shasta Beverages offered flavors such as

Mario is a character created by Japanese video game designer Shigeru Miyamoto. He is the title character of the ''Mario'' franchise and the mascot of Japanese video game company Nintendo. Mario has appeared in over 200 video games since his cre ...

Punch and

Princess Toadstool is a fictional character in Nintendo's ''Mario'' franchise, created by Shigeru Miyamoto and introduced in the 1985 original ''Super Mario Bros.'' installment. She is the princess regnant and ruler of the Mushroom Kingdom, where she resides ...

Cherry, which were produced in 8-ounce cans and marketed to children. From 2003 to 2006, Shasta Beverages sold soft drinks called Shasta Shortz that were also marketed to children. Shasta Shortz products were produced in 8-ounce cans and had sweeter, more candy-like flavors, including Bubble Gum, Camo Orange Creme, Chillin' Cherry Punch, Cotton Candy, Rah-Rah Root Beer, and Red Grape Stain.

Ingredients

Shasta Beverages uses

high-fructose corn syrup High-fructose corn syrup (HFCS), also known as glucose–fructose, isoglucose and glucose–fructose syrup, is a sweetener made from corn starch. As in the production of conventional corn syrup, the starch is broken down into glucose by enzy ...

as the sugar source in their drinks. Shasta diet soft drinks use sucralose and acesulfame potassium as non-nutritive sweeteners. Some of their sugar-based drinks, including their cola, use a combination of high-fructose corn syrup and sucralose. Ingredients for some of their sodas are as follows (in decreasing order by % of product): *Diet Cola: carbonated water,

caramel color Caramel color or caramel coloring is a water-soluble food coloring. It is made by heat treatment of carbohydrates (sugars), in general in the presence of acids, alkalis, or salts, in a process called caramelization. It is more fully oxidized than ...

phosphoric acid Phosphoric acid (orthophosphoric acid, monophosphoric acid or phosphoric(V) acid) is a colorless, odorless phosphorus-containing solid, and inorganic compound with the chemical formula . It is commonly encountered as an 85% aqueous solution, w ...

citric acid Citric acid is an organic compound with the chemical formula HOC(CO2H)(CH2CO2H)2. It is a colorless weak organic acid. It occurs naturally in citrus fruits. In biochemistry, it is an intermediate in the citric acid cycle, which occurs in ...

potassium citrate Potassium citrate (also known as tripotassium citrate) is a potassium salt of citric acid with the molecular formula K3C6H5O7. It is a white, hygroscopic crystalline powder. It is odorless with a saline taste. It contains 38.28% potassium by mass ...

, sucralose,

potassium benzoate Potassium benzoate (E212), the potassium salt of benzoic acid, is a food preservative that inhibits the growth of mold, yeast and some bacteria. It works best in low- pH products, below 4.5, where it exists as benzoic acid. Acidic foods and bev ...

(a preservative),

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 ...

, acesulfame potassium,

natural flavor A flavoring (or flavouring), also known as flavor (or flavour) or flavorant, is a food additive used to improve the taste or smell of food. It changes the perceptual impression of food as determined primarily by the chemoreceptors of the gustat ...

*Root Beer: carbonated water, high-fructose corn syrup, caramel color, natural and

artificial flavors A flavoring (or flavouring), also known as flavor (or flavour) or flavorant, is a food additive used to improve the taste or smell of food. It changes the perceptual impression of food as determined primarily by the chemoreceptors of the gust ...

(preservative), sucralose *Tiki Punch: carbonated water, high-fructose corn syrup, citric acid, potassium benzoate,

gum acacia Gum arabic, also known as gum sudani, acacia gum, Arabic gum, gum acacia, acacia, Senegal gum, Indian gum, and by other names, is a natural gum originally consisting of the hardened sap of two species of the '' Acacia'' tree, ''Senegalia sen ...

, natural and artificial flavor, glyceryl abietate,

red 40 Allura Red AC is a red azo dye that goes by several names, including FD&C Red 40. It is used as a food dye and has the E number E129. It is usually supplied as its red sodium salt, but can also be used as the calcium and potassium salts. These ...

*Orange Soda: carbonated water, high-fructose corn syrup, citric acid, potassium benzoate (preservative), modified corn starch, glyceryl acetate, natural flavor,

yellow 6 Sunset yellow FCF (also known as orange yellow S, or C.I. 15985) is a petroleum-derived orange azo dye with a pH dependent maximum absorption at about 480 nm at pH 1 and 443 nm at pH 13 with a shoulder at 500 nm. When added to f ...

, vitamin C (ascorbic acid), sucralose, calcium disodium EDTA, red 40product label (2017) *Black Cherry: carbonated water, high-fructose corn syrup, citric acid, natural and artificial flavors, potassium benzoate (preservative), caramel color, red 40, sucralose, blue 1 * Creme Soda: carbonated water, high-fructose corn syrup, potassium benzoate, citric acid, caramel color, artificial flavor, sucralose

References

External links

Shasta Beverages website
{{Colas 1889 establishments in California American soft drinks Companies based in Hayward, California Food and drink companies established in 1889 Food and drink in the San Francisco Bay Area Drink companies based in California 1985 mergers and acquisitions