Product type Vegetable juice Country United States | Owner Campbell Soup Company Website www.V8Juice.com | |
Introduced 1933; 84 years ago (1933) Markets United States
United Kingdom
Australia
Canada
Mexico | ||
V8 Vegetable Juice is a trademark name for beverage products sold worldwide and made from either eight vegetables or a mixture of vegetables and fruits. The brand is owned by the Campbell Soup Company.
Contents
The original V8 got its name from the fact that it contained the juices of eight different vegetables.
V8 vegetable juice
The original V8 is made mainly from water and tomato concentrate, and reconstituted vegetable juice blend: water and concentrate of eight vegetables, specifically: beets, celery, carrots, lettuce, parsley, watercress, spinach, and tomato. Tomato juice makes up around 87% of the total drink. Campbell's has produced several varieties of the drink, such as Original, Spicy Hot, Lemon, Picante, Roasted Chicken, Low-Sodium, and Organic. Two spin-offs of the V8 brand, "V8 Splash", and "V8 V•Fusion", are blends of fruit and vegetable (specifically carrot) juices. V8 Splash is sweetened with high-fructose corn syrup and Sucralose or just Splenda in Diet V8 Splash, while V•Fusion is made from 100% juice and contains a daily serving of both fruits and vegetables per 8 fl oz (240 mL) glass.
History
V8 Vegetable Juice was developed by W.G. Peacock (1896–1948), the founder of the New England Products Company, which manufactured individual vegetable juices under the brand name Vege-min. Having had only mediocre sales success, in 1933 Peacock began blending the Vege-min juices into one product and selling this new concoction as "Vege-min 8". A grocer in Evanston, Illinois, recommended that he shorten the name to simply "V-8". In 1948, the Campbell Soup Company acquired the brand from the Charles Loudon Packing Company in Terre Haute, Indiana, and has maintained continuous production of the beverage through the present day.
Derivative beverages
A few cocktail drinks use V8, most famously the "bloody eight" or "eight ball", which is a Bloody Mary with V8 instead of tomato juice.
V8 fruit & vegetable juice
In countries such as the UK and Australia, Campbell's also makes V8 100% Fruit & Vegetable Juice, combining vegetable juice with fruit juices for one serving of vegetables and one serving of fruits. This is available elsewhere as V8 V-Fusion. They are also sold in "light" versions containing 50% juice (1/2 serving of vegetables and 1/2 serving of fruits) with added flavors to reduce calorie content. V8 V-Fusion + Tea was recently introduced. It contains a 1/2 serving of vegetables and a 1/2 serving of fruits.
Some varieties are composed of:
The Australian flavour variants are Tropical, Melon Burst, Citrus Splash, Apple, Carrot & Ginger, and Apple Plum Fusion.
Other varieties include V8 Splash. , V8 Splash Diet, and V8 V-Fusion + Energy.
Nutrition
Example nutrition information for V8 Vegetable Juice: