Sunkist (also marketed as Sunkist Soda) is a brand of primarily

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 * ...

flavored soft drinks that launched in 1979. Sunkist primarily competes with

The Coca-Cola Company The Coca-Cola Company is an American multinational beverage corporation founded in 1892, best known as the producer of Coca-Cola. The Coca-Cola Company also manufactures, sells, and markets other non-alcoholic beverage concentrates and syrup ...

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 ...

brand.

History

Sunkist was first licensed by Sunkist Growers to the

General Cinema Corporation General Cinema Corporation, also known as General Cinema, GCC, or General Cinema Theatres, was a chain of movie theaters in the United States. At its peak, the company operated about 1,500 screens, some of which were among the first cinemas certif ...

, the leading independent bottler of

Pepsi-Cola Pepsi is a carbonated soft drink manufactured by PepsiCo. Originally created and developed in 1893 by Caleb Bradham and introduced as Brad's Drink, it was renamed as Pepsi-Cola in 1898, and then shortened to Pepsi in 1961. History Pepsi was ...

products at the time. The soft drink was the idea of Mark Stevens, who foresaw the potential based on market research which indicated that, worldwide, orange was the third best selling soft drink flavor (largely due to Fanta). After extensive R&D during 1977 and early 1978, in which research was conducted on taste, color and carbonation levels, Sunkist made a grand introduction in New York by franchising it to The Coca-Cola Bottling Company of

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

, where Edward F. O'Reilly was president. At the time of introduction, Sunkist Soft Drinks had only five key employees: Mark Stevens, President; Peter Murphy, VP Sales; Dr. John Leffingwell, VP R&D; Ray Sissom, VP Finance; and Jim DeDreu, NE Regional Manager. It went national soon thereafter by being franchised mainly to leading

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 Atlant ...

and Pepsi-Cola bottlers. The advertising slogan was "fun, sun and the beach" using TV and radio commercials with

the Beach Boys The Beach Boys are an American rock band that formed in Hawthorne, California, in 1961. The group's original lineup consisted of brothers Brian, Dennis, and Carl Wilson, their cousin Mike Love, and friend Al Jardine. Distinguished by the ...

' hit song "

Good Vibrations "Good Vibrations" is a song by the American rock band the Beach Boys that was composed by Brian Wilson with lyrics by Mike Love. It was released as a single on October 10, 1966 and was an immediate critical and commercial hit, topping record ...

" as the brand's theme. In 1980, Sunkist Orange Soda became the #1 orange soda in the US and the 10th best selling soft drink. Unlike many other competing orange sodas, Sunkist contains

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 ...

(19 mg per 12 fl oz). In 2010, there was a consumer recall after a batch was accidentally mixed with 6 times amount of the caffeine, sickening consumers. In late 1984, Sunkist Soft Drinks was sold to Del Monte. From late 1986 until 2008, it was produced by

Cadbury Schweppes Cadbury, formerly Cadbury's and Cadbury Schweppes, is a British multinational confectionery company fully owned by Mondelez International (originally Kraft Foods) since 2010. It is the second largest confectionery brand in the world after Mars ...

under license through its

Cadbury Schweppes Americas Beverages Dr Pepper Snapple Group (also called Dr. Pepper/7up Inc.) was an American multinational soft drink company based in Plano, Texas, and as of July 2018 it is a business unit of the publicly traded conglomerate Keurig Dr Pepper. Formerly Cadbury S ...

subsidiary. Following the demerger of Cadbury Schweppes Americas Beverages from Cadbury Schweppes, it is now produced 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 ...

in the US. Sunkist is still the most popular orange soda in the United States. Sunkist (as a carbonated soft drink) is sold in the UK by Vimto Soft Drinks under license from Sunkist Growers. It is also sold in Australia by Schweppes Australia (a subsidiary of Asahi Breweries), but the Australian formulation is caffeine free. In

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

, a caffeine free version of the orange drink is marketed as C'Plus. The package indicates that there is a small amount of Sunkist Juice. In the Philippines, it was sold by Cosmos Bottling until 2001, when

San Miguel Corporation San Miguel Corporation, abbreviated as SMC, is a Philippine multinational conglomerate headquartered in Mandaluyong, Metro Manila. The company is one of the largest and most diversified conglomerates in the Philippines. Originally founded i ...

acquired Cosmos and sold its brands to Coca-Cola Bottlers Philippines, Inc. As of 2013, Sunkist is sold by

Asia Brewery Asia Brewery, Inc. is a Philippines-based diversified beverage company owned by LT Group, Inc. (), a publicly listed holding company of Lucio Tan. History Asia Brewery, Inc. was established by Lucio Tan on January 27, 1982, with the inaugurat ...

makes a variety of Sunkist flavors. In addition to Orange, there is Diet Orange, Grape, Strawberry, Cherry Limeade, Pineapple, Lemonade, Diet Lemonade, Peach, Fruit Punch, Pink Lemonade, Strawberry Lemonade, Berry Lemonade, and Orange Mango.

Slogans

*"Good Vibrations." (1978–early 1980s, 2018–2020) *"Drinkin' in the Sun." (late 1980s) *"Feel All Orange Inside." (2007–2010) *"Head For the Sun." (2010–2013) *"Taste the Sun." (2013–2016) *"Drink the Sun." (2016–2018) *”Run in to the Sun.” (2020–present)

Notes

External links

* * Beverage World — State of the Industry '0

* Beverage World — State of the Industry '0

* Beverage World — State of the Industry '0

* Beverage World — State of the Industry '0

* Beverage World — State of the Industry '1

* Beverage World — State of the Industry '1

Sunkist Display Contest
* 1989 UK Sunkist Ad, YouTube video

Retrieved on May 28, 2008. {{Citrus sodas Products introduced in 1979 Keurig Dr Pepper brands Orange sodas

History

Slogans

Notes

Further reading

External links