“Ounces of Awesome”
Before there was a soda by the name of “Sunkist”, the growers of citrus fruits in California and Arizona used the word as a trademark for their premium fruit. As a brand name, it appeared on all types of products, from vitamins to fruit snacks.
The General Cinema Corporation was a nationwide movie theater chain that began in 1935 with their first drive-in theater. Back then the company was called Midwest Drive-In. In the early 1950s they began to build indoor theaters and by the 1960s they had branched out into bowling alleys, restaurants and coffee shops. They changed their name to General Cinema Corporation in 1964.
In 1978 the General Cinema Corporation released an orange soda they created and bottled. They obtained license to use the name “Sunkist” for their new orange soft drink, and it was launched nationwide. It didn’t take long for Sunkist to become the number-one orange soda sold in America.
The license to produce Sunkist soda was purchased by Cadbury Schweppes in 1986 and is now owned by their American subsidiary, Dr Pepper Snapple Group. There have been other flavors added to the Sunkist soda line, including Diet Orange, Sparkling Lemonade, Cherry Limeade, Grape, Strawberry, Fruit Punch, Pineapple and Peach. To this day, the brand “Sunkist” is still owned by the Sunkist Growers, Inc.
Dr Pepper Snapple Group, Inc.
Plano, Texas
I noticed the new 8 pack of regular Sunkist Orange Soda. Is it or will it be available in the diet orange soda. My stores seem to have a problem keeping the diet in stock as it is quite popular. I would like diet in the new smaller bottle 8 pack. Also why isn’t the diet lemon (such a good one) available in bottles, especially the smaller bottle 8 pack? Would buy lots of it probably if it were.