V8 (beverage)

Infobox Brand
logo=
name=V8 Vegetable Juice


type=Vegetable juice
currentowner=Campbell Soup Company
origin=flagcountry|USA
discontinued=
related=
markets=United States
United Kingdom
Australia
previousowners=
trademarkregistrations=
website=http://www.v8juice.com/

V8 Vegetable Juice is a trademark name for beverage products sold worldwide and made from either eight vegetables or a mixture of both fruits and vegetables. The brand is owned by the Campbell Soup Company.

V8 Vegetable Juice

The original V8 is made mainly from tomatoes and the juices from seven additional vegetables, specifically: beets, celery, carrots, lettuce, parsley, watercress, and spinach. Tomato juice composes around 87% of the total drink [http://www.thetimesonline.com/articles/2008/03/09/columnists/offbeat/doc09b3525539a2780b862573fe007ff4de.txt] . Campbell's makes several varieties of the drink, such as Original, Spicy, Lemon, Picante, Low-Sodium, and Organic.

Two spinoffs 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 or Splenda, while V•Fusion is made from 100% juice and contains a daily serving of both fruits and vegetables per 8oz glass.

History

V8 Vegetable Juice was invented 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."

The new V-8 was a success, and in 1948 the Campbell Soup Company acquired the brand. It has been in continuous production since.

Deviations

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. Vi-8 otherwise known as a Vimal 8 is a combination of V8 and orange flavored soda.

Commercials

Campbell Soup Company recently created a variety of commercials all depicting someone being hit on the forehead in some way because they did not choose a V8 or vegetables in general, instead choosing a food that is less nutritious. The slogan used in the commercials is "Could've had a V8." For example, in one of the commercials, a mom is showing her child a french fry by saying "Look what mommy's having. Mommy's having a french fry. Yes she is. Yes she is." Her child then slaps her on the forehead. Another commercial features a man ordering a "double bacon cheeseburger with no lettuce or tomato" only to be slapped by the drive-thru cashier. A variation used to promote V.Fusion features a man getting hit repeatedly by his wife until he says "You can do that all you want, I don't like V8 juice." This has evolved over time to become a common element of culture. The modern "V8 Slap" consists of slapping the heel of one's hand against another's forehead.

V8 Fruit & Vegetable Juice

In countries such as the UK and Australia, Campbells also makes V8 100% Fruit & Vegetable Juice, combining vegetable juice with fruit juices. This is now available elsewhere as V8 Fusion. V8 Fusion drinks contain 1/2 cup vegetable and 1/2 cup fruit juice in each 250ml (8 fluid ounce) serving.

Strawberry Banana contains the juice of 10 vegetables and fruits: sweet potatoes, tomatoes, carrots, beets, white grapes, oranges, apples, strawberries, bananas and banana puree.

Tropical Orange contains the juice of 7 vegetables and fruits: sweet potatoes, carrots, yellow tomatoes, squash, white grapes, oranges, pineapplesPeach Mango contains the juice of 7 vegetables and fruits: sweet potatoes, yellow tomatoes, squash, white grapes, oranges, peaches, mangoes.

The Australian flavour variants are Tropical, Melon Burst, Citrus Splash, Apple, Carrot & Ginger, and Apple Plum Fusion

Nutrition

Example nutrition information for V8 Vegetable Juice:

References

External links

* [http://www.v8juice.com/ V8 Beverages site (US)]
* [http://www.v8juice.co.uk/ V8 Beverages site (UK)]
* [http://www.campbellsoup.com.au/brands/product_detail.aspx?product_id=73 V8 Campbell's site (Australia)]
* [http://recipes.1cedarwood.com/recipes/misc/V-8_Juice.html How To Make V-8 Juice At Home]
* [http://nutritiondata.com/facts-C00001-01c21zi.html Detailed nutritional data at NutritionData.com] for the low-sodium version