Type Soft drink Introduced 1979 | Country of origin United States Related products | |
Manufacturer Dr Pepper Snapple Group | ||
Sunkist is a brand of primarily orange flavored soft drinks launched in 1979.
Contents
History
Sunkist was first licensed by Sunkist Growers to the General Cinema Corporation, the leading independent bottler of Pepsi-Cola 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 The Coca-Cola Company's Fanta brand).
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, 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 and Pepsi-Cola bottlers. The advertising slogan was "fun, sun and the beach" using TV and radio commercials with the Beach Boys' hit song "Good Vibrations" as the brand's theme. In 1980, Sunkist Orange Soda became the #1 orange soda in the USA and the 10th best selling soft drink. Unlike many other competing orange sodas, Sunkist contains caffeine (41.0mg).
In late 1984, Sunkist Soft Drinks was sold to Del Monte. From late 1986 until 2008, it was produced by Cadbury Schweppes under license through its Cadbury Schweppes Americas Beverages subsidiary. Following the demerger of Cadbury Schweppes Americas Beverages from Cadbury Schweppes, it is now produced by Dr Pepper Snapple Group in the USA. 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, a decaffeinated 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 is once sold by Cosmos Bottling until 2001, when San Miguel Corporation acquired Cosmos and sold its brands to Coca-Cola Bottlers Philippines, Inc., but it will terminate the licensing to produce Sunkist, along with RC Cola, and Jolt Cola. As of 2013, it is now sold by Asia Brewery.
Dr Pepper Snapple Group also makes a diet version of Sunkist.
Ingredients
Australia (marked on 375 mL can):
Canada (marked on 355 mL can):
United Kingdom (marked on 330 mL can):
United States (marked on 20 oz. bottle):
United States (marked on 12 oz. can):