Bireley's is a brand of non-carbonated, fruit-flavored soft drinks originally produced by the Frank W. Bireley Company (later Bireley's Inc.), established in

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the ...

in 1923 by Frank W. Bireley. The brand grew rapidly, becoming known throughout the United States, and was acquired by

General Foods General Foods Corporation was a company whose direct predecessor was established in the United States by Charles William Post as the Postum Cereal Company in 1895. The company changed its name to "General Foods" in 1929, after several corporate ...

in 1943. It subsequently disappeared from the market in its home country, but still retains a small international presence through

Asahi Soft Drinks is a soft drink company founded in 1982 and headquartered in the Azuma-bashi district of Sumida, Tokyo, Japan. It is a subsidiary of Asahi Breweries. The company sponsors the Asahi Soft Drinks Challengers, an American football team in the Japane ...

in Japan and, until 2019,

Ichitan Ichitan Company is a Thai beverage company that manufactures green tea drinks, herbal drinks, fruit drinks, and energy drinks. History Ichitan company was founded by Tan Passakornatee who was the original founder of Oishi Group Oishi Group ...

in Thailand.

History

The Bireley's brand originated from Frank Bireley's

orange juice Orange juice is a liquid extract of the orange tree fruit, produced by squeezing or reaming oranges. It comes in several different varieties, including blood orange, navel oranges, valencia orange, clementine, and tangerine. As well as var ...

business, which began with him selling fresh squeezed juice to fellow students while studying at Stanford University. The business became very successful, and Bireley dropped out of university and established the Frank W. Bireley Company in 1923. The original product, known as Bireley's Orangeade, was first produced at the company's main plant in

North Hollywood North Hollywood is a neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, located in the San Fernando Valley. The neighborhood contains the NoHo Arts District, the El Portal Theatre, several art galleries, and the Academy of TV Arts and Sciences. The North ...

. The company later opened a bottling plant in

Oakland Oakland is the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California, United States. A major West Coast of the United States, West Coast port, Oakland is the largest city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, the third ...

in 1937, and established franchises with local bottlers throughout the United States. The company developed and patented an automated juice extractor system for its operations, which involved juicing, pasteurization and concentration at the main factory, then shipment for reconstitution and sweetening with sugar at the bottling plants. The drink's marketing promoted its lack of carbonation as a benefit. By 1942, the company was producing about 58 million bottles of the beverage a month, and Bireley had become known as the "orange juice king". The company was acquired by

in 1943, becoming a division under its new parent, with Bireley staying on as general manager. Several new flavors were introduced, and the brand expanded overseas, establishing presences under the name Bireley's California Orange in several countries, including in Thailand in 1950. In Japan, the drink was produced by

beginning in 1951. The brand enjoyed popularity in many countries during the 1950s, including the Philippines. In Thailand, the brand became a household name not only after the drink's popularity, but also the notoriety of the 1950s gangster Dang Bireley, who gained the moniker from that of the neighborhood where he lived, near the Bireley's bottling plant. (He was also the inspiration for the 1997 film '' Dang Bireley's and Young Gangsters''.) In 1959, General Foods sold its Bireley's operations to Chicago-based dairy ingredients supplier Krim-Ko. The brand subsequently disappeared from most markets over the following few decades. By the 1990s, its international operations, by then owned by TLC Beatrice, remained only in Thailand (in addition to Japan, where Asahi had acquired trademark rights in 1980). TLC Beatrice sold its interest in Bireley's California Orange (Thailand) to Pokka Singapore in 2000, but Pokka soon offloaded the acquisition, which continued to operate at a loss, to Thai investors in 2003. In 2010, the Thai group, under the name Sunny Herb International Beverage, acquired the rights to the Bireley's brand in all twenty countries where it was registered, except Japan. The rights, as well as all of the Bireley's business and facilities in Thailand, were in turn sold to the Thai beverage manufacturer

for 1.78 billion

baht The baht (; th, บาท, ; sign: ฿; code: THB) is the official currency of Thailand. It is divided into 100 ''satang'' (, ). The issuance of currency is the responsibility of the Bank of Thailand. SWIFT ranked the Thai baht as the 10th-most ...

(US$55 million) in 2014. Ichitan had expected to revive the ailing brand and re-expand into foreign markets, but despite initially successful marketing, the efforts failed to perform up to expectations. The product line was discontinued in 2019, leaving Japan as the only market where the brand is still found.

References

{{reflist, refs= {{cite web , title=Frank W. Bireley Co.'s Local Orange Industry Innovation , url=https://library.csun.edu/SCA/Peek-in-the-Stacks/bireleys-orange , website=CSUN University Library: Special Collections & Archives , publisher=CSU Northridge University Library , access-date=22 May 2021 , date=26 March 2019 {{cite news , title=New Orangeade plant is opened , url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/64948004/bireleys-orangeade-plant-opens-3001/ , date=13 August 1937 , work=Oakland Tribune , page=35 {{cite news , title=Local bottling plant joins General Foods , url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/64949533/bireleys-acquired-by-general-foods/ , work=Oakland Tribune , date=28 March 1943 , page=36 {{cite news , title=Notes on Bay commerce , url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/64951816/general-foods-sells-bireleys-to-krim-ko/ , work=Oakland Tribune , date=6 July 1959 {{cite news , title=Passing By: Frank Bireley, Orange Juice King , url=https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/385526180/ , work=The Los Angeles Times , date=23 April 1939 , page=17 {{cite news , author1=ประลองพล เพี้ยงบางยาง , title=เปิดตำนานเครื่องดื่มบรรจุขวด , url=https://www.thairath.co.th/content/499183 , access-date=22 May 2021 , work=Thairath , date=17 May 2015 , language=th {{cite news , title=3 นาทีคดีดัง : 2499 บันทึกชีวิต แดง ไบเล่ (คลิป) , url=https://www.thairath.co.th/scoop/1915517 , access-date=22 May 2021 , work=Thairath Online , date=23 August 2020 , language=th {{cite news , title=E. P. gets orange drink from Golden Groves: How Birely established industry , url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/429465942/ , work=The El Paso Times , date=20 August 1942 , page=8 {{cite news , last1=Ribbing , first1=Mark , title=Beatrice decides to sell its units; Food company approves plan, will go out of business; Liquidation , url=https://www.baltimoresun.com/news/bs-xpm-1999-05-28-9905280122-story.html , access-date=22 May 2021 , work=The Baltimore Sun , date=28 May 1999 {{cite book , last1=Shimizu , first1=Hiroshi , title=Japanese Firms in Contemporary Singapore , date=2008 , publisher=NUS Press , location=Singapore , isbn=9789971693848 , page=121 , chapter=Pokka Corporation's Asian strategy {{cite web , title=HISTORY 1881～ , url=https://www.asahisoftdrinks.com/history/01.html , website=Asahi Soft Drinks , access-date=22 May 2021 , language=en {{cite web , title=HISTORY 1972～ , url=https://www.asahisoftdrinks.com/history/02.html , website=Asahi Soft Drinks , access-date=22 May 2021 , language=en {{cite web , last1=Castro , first1=Alex , title=15 Vintage Soft Drinks that Refreshed a Generation of Filipinos , url=https://www.esquiremag.ph/food-and-drink/food/filipino-vintage-soft-drinks-a2289-20190322-lfrm2 , website=Esquiremag.ph , access-date=22 May 2021 , date=22 March 2019 {{cite news , title=กลุ่มทุนไทยผงาดซื้อแบรนด์น้ำส้ม "ไบเล่" ประกาศลั่นยึดตลาดทั่วโลก , url=https://www.thairath.co.th/content/113605 , access-date=22 May 2021 , work=Thairath , date=24 September 2010 , language=th {{cite web , author1=P.Patikom , title=Brand return I'll be back - ไบเล่ สู้เพื่อเติบใหญ่ กลางคลื่นคลั่งน้ำผลไม้ , url=https://www.brandage.com/article/2054/Bireley- , website=BrandAge , access-date=22 May 2021 , language=th , date=19 October 2017 {{cite news , last1=Jitpleecheep , first1=Pitsinee , last2=Kewaleewongsatorn , first2=Saengwit , title=Veterans hope to regain glory , url=https://www.bangkokpost.com/business/409972/veterans-hope-to-regain-glory , access-date=22 May 2021 , work=Bangkok Post , date=16 May 2014 {{cite news , last1=Ono , first1=Yukakako , title=Thai beverage maker Ichitan buys Bireley's assets , url=https://asia.nikkei.com/Business/Ichitan-buys-Bireleys-factory-and-regional-trademark , access-date=22 May 2021 , work=Nikkei Asia , date=15 May 2014 {{cite news , title=ทิ้ง'ไบเล่-T247' 'อิชิตัน'หันรุกเทรดดิ้ง5ปีปั้นรายได้หมื่นล. , url=https://www.thansettakij.com/content/408433 , access-date=22 May 2021 , work=Than Settakij , issue=3501 , date=1–4 September 2019 , page=30 , language=th Orange sodas Juice brands Drink companies based in California Asahi Breweries American soft drink brands Thai drink brands

History

See also

References