Sunkist (soft drink)

Sunkist

Type	Soft drink
Manufacturer	Dr Pepper Snapple Group
Country of origin	United States
Introduced	1979 Sunkist 'Orange' Nutritional value per serving Serving size 1 can (375 mL) Energy 833 kJ (199 kcal) Carbohydrates 48.4 g - Sugars 48.4 g Fat 0 g Protein 0 g Sodium 34 mg (2%) Percentages are relative to US recommendations for adults.

Sunkist is a brand of primarily orange flavored soft drinks launched in 1979.

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, 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).[1]

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.^[1] The package indicates that there is a small amount of Sunkist Juice.

Dr Pepper Snapple Group also makes a diet version of Sunkist.

Ingredients

Australia (marked on 375 mL can):

• Carbonated water
• Sugar
• Food Acid (E330)
• Flavour
• Preservative (E211)
• Colour (E110)

Canada (marked on 355 mL can):

• Carbonated water
• Sugar/Glucose-fructose
• Concentrated orange juice
• Citric acid
• Modified corn starch
• Sodium benzoate
• Potassium sorbate
• Sucrose acetate isobutyrate
• Sodium citrate
• Colour
• Natural flavour
• Ascorbic acid

United States (marked on 20 oz. bottle):

• Carbonated water
• High fructose corn syrup and/or sugar
• Citric acid
• Sodium benzoate (preservative)
• Food starch-modified
• Natural flavors
• Caffeine
• Glycerol ester of wood rosin
• Ascorbic acid (preservative)
• Yellow 6
• Red 40

Criticism

The magazine Men's Health rated Sunkist as the worst soda in the United States, citing its extremely high sugar content equivalent to 6 Oreo Ice Cream Sandwiches and its artificial coloring agents yellow 6 and red 40, which "may be linked to behavioral and concentration problems in children".^[2]

Variants

Flavors include:

• Sunkist (Orange)
• Diet Sunkist (Orange)
• Sunkist Sparkling Lemonade
• Diet Sunkist Sparkling Lemonade
• Sunkist Strawberry
• Sunkist Peach
• Sunkist Grape
• Sunkist Summer Fruits
• Sunkist Tropical
• Sunkist Pineapple
• Sunkist Fruit Punch
• Sunkist Cherry Limeade
• Sunkist Float
• Sunkist Solar Fusion (2010- ) - Tropical Mandarin with caffeine
• Sunkist Citrus Fusion (2010- ) - Citrus Lime with caffeine

Slogans

• "Good Vibrations." (1978-early 1980s)
• "Feel All Orange Inside." (2007-2010)
• "Head For the Sun." (2010-Present)

Notes

1. ^ "C'Plus". Canada Dry Mott's Inc. http://www.canadadrymotts.ca/brands/cplus/. Retrieved 23 April 2011. 
2. ^ http://eatthis.menshealth.com/slide/worst-soda-1?slideshow=184612#sharetagsfocus

References

• Pruitt, Bettye H. (1994) “The Making of Harcourt General” Harvard Business School Press, pp. 106–107, 153, 173. ISBN 0-8758-4509-6. Google Book Search. Retrieved on March 28, 2008. Note – the individual mentioned as Mark Sobell is also known as Mark Stevens.
• 1984 Sunkist Ad featuring the "Good Vibrations" theme song, YouTube video "[2]" Retrieved on March 27, 2008.
• 1984-85 Sunkist Ad featuring the "Good Vibrations" theme song, YouTube video "[3]" Retrieved on May 12, 2008.
• Cadbury Schweppes purchases Canada Dry and Sunkist soft drinks from RJR (July 1986), New York Times (online) "[4]" Retrieved on March 27, 2008.
• 1989 UK Sunkist Ad, YouTube video "[5]" Retrieved on May 28, 2008.
• Sunkist Soda-History http://www.sunkistsoda.com/#/history
• Sunkist Soda- http://www.sunkistsoda.com/#/productinfo
• Sunkist Soda Montage - In-the-Beginning, YouTube video "[6]" Retrieved on August 12, 2011.

External links

• Sunkist official website
• Beverage World - State of the Industry '06 [7]
• Beverage World - State of the Industry '07 [8]
• Beverage World - State of the Industry '08 [9]
• Beverage World - State of the Industry '09 [10]
• Beverage World - State of the Industry '10 [11]
• Beverage World - State of the Industry '11 [12]
• Sunkist Display Contest