Type Soft drink Introduced 1952 | Country of origin United States | |
Flavour chocolate, black cherry, ginger ale, root beer | ||
No-Cal was the first zero-calorie soda. Marketed to diabetics, not dieters, in a number of flavors, the most popular being black cherry.
Contents
History
Hyman Kirsch and his son Morris, both Russian immigrants living in the Williamsburg section of Brooklyn, New York, began selling sodas in 1904. Their involvement with the Jewish Sanitarium for Chronic Disease (now known as Kingsbrook Jewish Medical Center), led them to the invention of a sugar-free drink to meet the needs of the hospital’s diabetic patients.
Hyman and Morris developed a line of carbonated, sugar-free, zero-calorie soft drinks which they called No-Cal, that they began selling in 1952. The soda was produced at the company’s plant in College Point, Queens, New York.
Initially it came only in ginger ale, sweetened with sodium cyclamate. Later, root beer and black cherry were added, the latter becoming the flagship flavor. Eventually they added Lemon, cola, coffee, and chocolate sodas.
Eventually, the company started marketing the soda to "weight-conscious" housewives. It thus took off in popularity, until the company was worth millions.
Ray Distributors, owned and operated by Arthur Raphael, was the sole distributor of No-Cal Soda on Long Islang from the early 50's till his death in 1967. Mr. Raphael, a salesman for Kirsch before Hyman and Morris Kirsch gave him the opportunity to bring No-Cal to Nassau and Suffolk Counties, was also instrumental in introducing No-Cal as a fountain drink. A syrup form of the beverage was added to seltzer to make a zero calorie soda that could be ordered at any coffee shop or pizza take out, for the first time allowing the American public the chance to even out their calorie intake by ordering a "diet" soda with their slice. A truly American way of thinking was born.
Advertising
No-Cal used up-and-coming Hollywood starlets such as Kim Novak and Julie Adams in its print ads. Cartoonist Stan Goldberg did the advertising art for a No-Cal Soda billboard in Times Square. Actor Jack Gilford was the No-Cal Genie in television and print ads.
Decline
As major soda producers such as the Coca Cola Company and Pepsico launched their own diet brands in the 1960s, No-Cal found it hard to compete. This, coupled with the Food and Drug Administration's ban of cyclamate sweeteners from all U.S. food and drug products in October 1970, caused No-Cal to lose market share and slowly disappear.