Information about Snapple

Snapple is a beverage company based in Rye Brook, New York that produces a variety of teas and fruit drinks which are sold in glass bottles, soda-style cans, and plastic bottles. Snapple was founded by Hyman Golden, Arnold Greenberg and Leonard Marsh in Valley Stream, New York on Long Island in 1972. The word "Snapple" is derived from a carbonated apple soda. Currently, there are four different types of Snapple: Tea (Diet and Regular,) Juice Drinks, Lemonade as well as their own brand of bottled Water.

Snapple's brand slogan is "Made from the best stuff on Earth."

History

Leonard Marsh, Hyman Golden, and Arnold Greenberg created the Snapple brand in 1972.^[1] Initially an apple soda was the single product offered, leading to the name Snapple. Soon, fruit drinks were introduced to health clubs and the company created the name The Unadulterated Food Corporation, later changing it to The Snapple Beverage Corporation.^[2] In 1987, the iced tea flavor was introduced and a year later the company expanded distribution into New England and California. Wendy the Snapple Lady was also introduced to the advertising team as a straight-talking, average, American spokesperson. After sales reached into the tens of millions and started quadrupling every year, the original founders sold the company to a Boston investment firm and the company went public.In 1994, the Snapple Corporation was sold to Quaker Oats, which dropped both Howard Stern and Wendy the Snapple Lady as spokespersons. Quaker later sold Snapple to Triarc in 1997 for $300 million, who reintroduced Stern and Wendy. The company was acquired by Cadbury Schweppes in 2000 and folded into Cadbury Schweppes Americas Beverages in early 2006. In 2006, a limited edition of Snapple named "Snapple Pie" hit stores. Also in 2006, Snapple introduced "Snapple Asian Tea", "Snapple Green Tea", and "Snapple Red Tea", while 2007 brought about "Snapple Black Tea" and Snapple "100% Natural" flavors such as kiwi-pear and orange-mangosteen.

Advertising/Spokespersons

In the early 1990s, radio commentator Rush Limbaugh was used as a celebrity endorser, as was shock jock Howard Stern.

In 1993 Wendy Kaufman, an employee for the Snapple corporation, was recruited to be the commercial spokesperson for the drink...partly because she liked to answer letters about products written to the company. Kaufman's advertisements centered around her reading letters out loud and delivering comedic responses. Kaufman was dubbed "The Snapple Lady." The commercials ran until 1994 when she was unceremoniously fired from the company, upon the company's sale to Quaker Oats for $1.7 Billion.^[3] Quaker Oats then sold Snapple for $300 million to Triarc, which reinstated Kaufman as the Snapple Lady in 1997.^[3]

Flavors

Teas[5] Lemon Tea Caffeine Free Lemon Tea Just Plain Tea Unsweetened Lime Green Tea Mint Tea Out of the Blue-Berry Raspberry Tea Peach Tea Very Cherry Tea Kiwi Teawi White Tea-Green Apple White Tea-Nectarine White Tea-Raspberry Green Tea Green Tea-Mango Green Tea-Pear Wild 'Bout Berries Red Tea-Acia Mixed Berry Red Tea- Mandarin Tangerine Red Tea-Peach Pomegranate Black Tea-Earl Grey Black Tea-Orange Pekoe Black Tea-English Breakfast Lemonade[6] Lemonade Iced Tea Lemonade Pink Lemonade Super Sour Lemonade

Diet[7] Diet Lemon Tea Diet Lime Green Tea Diet Peach Tea Diet Green Apple Tea Diet Raspberry Tea Diet Out of the Blue-Berry Tea Diet Plum-A-Granate Tea Diet Lemonade Iced Tea Diet Cranberry Raspberry Diet Kiwi Strawberry Diet Snapple Apple Diet Orange Carrot Diet Pink Lemonade Juice Drinks[8] Snapricot Orange Snapple Apple Cranberry Raspberry Fruit Punch Bunch Green Apple Blueberry Grapeade Kiwi Strawberry Mango Madness Orangeade Summer Peach Raspberry Peach Go Bananas What-a-Melon Out-red-geous Orange Apple Pie Acai Blackberry Pomegranate-Raspberry

Kosher[9] Caffeine Free Tea Cranberry Raspberry Cranberry Twist Diet Cranberry Raspberry Diet Kiwi Strawberry Diet Lime Green Tea Diet Orange Carrot Diet Peach Tea Diet Pink Lemonade Diet Raspberry Tea Diet Ruby Red Just Plain Tea-Unsweetened Kiwi Strawberry Lemon Tea Lemonade Lemonade Iced Tea Lime Green Tea Mango Madness Mint Tea Orangeade Peach Tea Pink Lemonade Raspberry Tea Ruby Red Diet Lemon Tea Snapple Apple Snapricot Orange Very Cherry Tea

Elements

In 1999, Snapple released a set of drinks under the "Elements" brand. These new drinks have names based on nature, and are marketed as all natural energy drinks. The original bottles were made from clear glass, but they now come in aluminum bottles. They also have amounts of Vitamin B, Caffeine, Ginseng, and Taurine.

Current Flavors Metal - Blood Orange Venom - Citrus Fire - Dragonfruit Rain - Agave Cactus Subzero - Siberian Cherry Meteor - Tangelo Altitude- Persimmon Spark - Mandarin Carrot Sun - Juiced Berry Banana Turbulence - Shredded Lemon Atomic - Jacked Apple Velocity- Grapefruit Cranberry Diet Air - Prickly Peach Diet Ice - Ruby Tangelo

Discontinued Flavors Volcano- Indigo Grape Gravity- Carrot Infusion Earth - Grape Cranberry Lightning - Ginseng Black Tea Moon - Green Tea Sky - Passion Fruit Voltage - Citron Sun - Starfruit Orange Infusion - Mango Tangerine

Discontinued Flavors

According to Snapple's website, there are 68 discontinued Snapple flavors, many of which were part of unsuccessful franchises such as: Snapple Sodas, Refreshers, and Seltzers. These discontinued flavors include Cactus Tea (see photo above), Sun Tea, Sweet Tea, Strawberry Tea, Pink Grapefruit (part of a line of 100% juice drinks), Grape Watermelon, Blueberry Tea, Ralph's Cantaloupe Cocktail, Bali Blast, Samoan Splash (all four were regular juice drinks) and diet Mango Madness. Snapple sodas were popular in the northeast US from 1983 until they were discontinued in the late-1990s. The sodas came in a glass bottle with a metal (later a plastic) cap and included such flavors as Clear Cola (similar to Crystal Pepsi but marketed years before), Diet Lemon Lime, Ginger Ale, Jamaican Ginger Beer, Kiwi Peach, Passion Supreme, Peach Melba, Raspberry Royale, Strawberry, Cherry Lime Rickey, Kiwi Strawberry, French Cherry, Creme d'Vanilla, Creme d'Chocolate, and Tru Root Beer (the latter three were clear). The last six are not mentioned on Snapple's list of 68 discontinued flavors, which means there are actually at least 74 discontinued flavors. The only soda to survive as a regular drink is Kiwi Strawberry, which is currently sold in a non-carbonated form.

In 2000, Snapple Jelly Beans were produced for a few years, until discontinuation.

Health concerns

Most of the Snapple products contain high fructose corn syrup.^[10] The non-diet Snapple products tend to have a high sugar content. For example, one bottle of the Snapple juice drink "Cranberry Raspberry" contains 2 servings of 27 grams of sugar (54 grams) -- because the nutrition facts are based on 8 oz (50% bottle) instead of 16 oz. All of the glass bottles of Snapple present the nutrition information this way. ^[11][12] The amount of sugar is nearly the same (and sometimes, greater) than that of soda^[13].

Additionally, Diet Snapple products contain aspartame, an artificial sweetener that has raised concerns.

Strange properties

After Snapple has been frozen and thawed, Snapple will solidify when shaken. It does not solidify before it has been frozen.

Snapple and education

In October 2003, Snapple began its sponsorship of the New York City school system. Snapple vending machines were placed ubiquitously -- and exclusively -- throughout schools in the City. Snapple was able to acquire the contract in part because New York City officials did not want to encourage the consumption of sodas, which have been linked to childhood obesity and are generally considered unhealthy. The Snapple juices are marketed under the 100% Juiced label. The flavors available under this brand include Green Apple, Fruit Punch, Melon Berry, Grape, Orange Mango, and Strawberry Lime. The juice drinks are fortified with vitamins and minerals. However, they still contain more sugar (41 grams) than a 12-ounce container of Coca Cola (39 grams).^[13]

The deal also gave Snapple exclusive rights to sell its drinks in vending machines on all New York City properties starting in January 2004. Snapple paid the City $106 million for the rights and agreed to spend $60 million more to marketing and promotion over the length of the five-year contract.

Snapple Caps

Snapple is also known for putting alleged facts on the inside of the bottle caps. Each "Real Fact" (as they are called) is available on their website, however, they're provided one at a time, in random order, making it difficult to verify them all.^[15]

It is easy to recognize the different varieties because each type of drink has a differently colored cap:

• Teas: Blue caps
• Diets: White caps
• Juice drinks: Green caps
• Lemonades: Yellow caps
• Special Contests: Red caps, Silver caps
• White Teas: Silver caps
• Red Teas: Brushed metal colored caps

Real Facts

• #5 A camel has 3 eyelids.
• #7 A queen bee can lay 800-1500 eggs per day.
• #8 A bee has 5 eyes.
• #12 Emus and kangaroos cannot walk backwards.
• #14 Camel's milk does not curdle.
• #15 All porcupines float in water.
• #17 A hummingbird weighs less than a penny.
• #21 Almonds are members of the peach family.
• #23 The San Francisco cable cars are the only mobile National Monuments.
• #25 The only food that doesn't spoil is honey.
• #26 The Hawaiian alphabet has only 12 letters.
• #44 The bullfrog is the only animal that never sleeps.
• #46 Elephants are the only mammals that can't jump.
• #48 Cats can hear ultrasound.
• #54 The average smell weighs 760 nanograms.
• #63 The average human produces 10,000 gallons of saliva in a lifetime.
• #69 No word in the English language rhymes with month.
• #85 The Mona Lisa has no eyebrows.
• #87 A mile on the ocean and a mile on land are not the same distance.
• #110 Thailand means "Land of the Free."
• #111 Only male turkeys gobble.
• #113 The fastest recorded speed of a racehorse was over 43 mph.
• #115 Bamboo makes up 99% of a panda's diet.
• #117 The starfish is the only animal that can turn its stomach inside out.
• #118 Honeybees are the only insects that create a form of food for humans.
• #121 The only bird that can swim but not fly is the penguin.
• #122 A duck can't walk without bobbing its head.
• #123 Beavers were once the size of bears.
• #124 Seals sleep only one and a half minutes at a time.
• #125 Pigeons have been trained by the U.S. Coast Guard to spot people lost at sea.
• #126 A pigeon's feathers are heavier than its bones.
• #127 A hummingbird's heart beats 1,400 times a minute..
• #128 Dragonflies have six legs but cannot walk.
• #129 Mosquitoes have 47 teeth.
• #131 Penguins have an organ above their eyes that converts seawater to freshwater.
• #133 Honeybees navigate by using the Sun as a compass..
• #134 An ant can lift 50 times its own weight.
• #135 A single coffee tree produces only about a pound of coffee beans a year.
• #139 Hawaii is the only state with one school district.
• #140 Holland is the only country with a national dog.
• #141 The square dance is the official dance of the state of Washington.
• #142 Hawaii is the only U.S. state never to report a temperature of zero degrees F or below.
• #144 Texas is the only state that permits residents to cast absentee ballots from space.
• #148 The tallest man was 8 ft. 11 in.
• #156 Swimming pools in the U.S. contain enough water to cover San Francisco
• #157 The first TV soap opera debuted in 1946
• #159 The first TV show ever to be put into reruns was "The Lone Ranger."
• #164 The first vacuum was so large, it was brought to a house by horse.
• #165 Your eye expands up to 45% when looking at something pleasing.
• #166 Before mercury, brandy was used to fill thermometers.
• #168 One brow wrinkle is the result of 200,000 frowns.
• #169 The first human-made object to break the sound barrier was a whip..
• #170 In 1878, the first telephone book ever issued contained only 50 names.
• #172 The eye makes movements 50 times every second.
• #178 The first ballpoint pens were sold in 1945 for $12.00
• #183 The Capitol building in Washington, DC has 365 steps to represent every day of the year.
• #187 There are over 63,000 pizzarias in the U.S.
• #188 Antarctica is the driest, coldest, windiest and highest continent on earth.
• #191 Popcorn was invented by the American Indians.
• #202 The mouth of the Statue of Liberty is 3 feet wide.
• #224 Giraffes can lick their own eyes.
• #225 Among North Atlantic lobsters, 1 in 5,000 is born bright blue.
• #226 13 percent of the world's tea comes from Kenya.
• #227 Blackboard chalk contains no chalk.
• #243 If you put all the streets in New York City in a straight line, they would stretch to Japan.
• #251 There are more French restaurants in New York City than in Paris.
• #260 Underwater hockey is played with a 3-pound puck.
• #264 Your breathing rate increases when you start to type.
• #270 Colors like red, yellow, and orange make you hungry.
• #302 Ketchup was once sold as a medicine.
• #304 In 1900, 1/3 of all automobiles in New York City were powered by electricity
• #309 Ancient Egyptians believed that the "vein of love" ran from the third finger on the left hand to the heart.
• #327 Chewing gum was invented in New York City in 1870 by Thomas Adams.
• #329 The world's first escalator was built in Coney Island, NY, in 1896.
• #330 The top of the Empire State Building was originally built as a place to anchor blimps.
• #331 Grapes are the most popular fruit in the world.
• #335 The 4th Earl of Sandwich invented the sandwich so he could eat and gamble at the same time.
• #338 It is estimated that the world's oceans contain 10 billion tons of gold.

Incorrect Facts

Several of the facts on Snapple caps have been found to be incorrect or out of date, including:

• #1 A goldfish's attention span is three seconds. In fact a Goldfish's attention span and memory lasts well over 3 seconds which was proven in an experiment done by the Mythbusters, in which they trained several goldfish to complete a maze.
• #27 "A ball of glass will bounce higher than a ball of rubber." Density in glass is higher than it is in rubber. Therefore, the opposing force will react slower with the vector of glass than ball. The resulting height will be greater for a rubber ball than a glass ball.
• #36 "A duck's quack doesn't echo" Proven false by Snopes.^[16]
  • #77 No piece of paper can be folded in half more than 7 times. This was proven false by the Discovery Channel show Mythbusters, who folded a piece of paper 11 times. The piece of paper used in Mythbusters was an oversized piece of paper and thinner than a standard 8.5"x11" inch piece of paper.^[17]
  • #114 "The oldest known animal was a tortoise, which lived to be 152 years old" Currently the oldest living animal, a tortoise named Tu'i Malila, lived to be 188 years old.^[18]
  • #145 "Lake Superior is the world's largest lake." Caspian Sea is considered the largest.
  • #146 "The smallest county in America is New York County, better known as Manhattan." In fact, Kalawao County, Hawaii is smaller.^[19]
  • #162 "The temp. of the sun can reach 15 million degrees F.." The core reaches temperatures of 25 million degrees F and the surface reaches only 10,000 degrees F, either way its wrong.
  • #163 "The first penny had the motto 'Mind your own business.'" is actually false. The first penny has the motto "Mind your business".
  • #171 "The most sensitive parts of the body are the mouth, butt and fingertips". The clitoris has more nerve endings than all of these, as do the eyeballs.
  • #180 "The first VCR was made in 1956 and was the size of a piano." The first VTR (Video Tape Recorder) was made in 1956. VCR's (video cassette recorders) came along in the 1970's.
  • #266 "The only borough in New York City without a Main Street is Manhattan." Roosevelt Island, part of Manhattan, has a Main Street.
  • #334 "Thomas Edison coined the word "hello" and introduced it as a way to answer the phone." Hello was used in print in Roughing It by Mark Twain in 1872, while the telephone was invented in 1876.^[20]

  Rumors and Myths

  Like many popular brands, Snapple has had urban myths and false rumors occasionally plague its brand. In 1992, rumors began to spread that Snapple was a supporter of the Ku Klux Klan and Operation Rescue. The reasoning for this was the portrayal of a ship from the Boston Tea Party, which was mistakenly believed to actually be a slave ship.
  
  Snapple also fell victim to the old rumor that the small "K" was either a representation of the Klan, or of an imagined "Jewish Tax" (augmented by the fact that all three founders were Jewish). The "K" on the products actually meant that they were certified kosher.^[21]
  
  Snapple initially tried to quell these rumors quietly, but ultimately had to launch a media campaign to squash them, pointing out it would be bad for business to support controversial issues in such a way as the rumors implied. Through a media campaign with the NAACP, Snapple successfully fought back these rumors, although occasionally they are still brought up as fact.
  
  ^[22]

  In popular culture

  The NBC comedy show 30 Rock features intentionally flagrant promotion of Snapple in the episode Jack-tor as a parody of "product integration". Careful viewing of the credits shows that Snapple does, in fact, give promotional consideration to the show.
  
  Rapper The Game references Belvedere Vodka and the Snapple flavor Go Bananas as his drink of choice in the title track of his second album, Doctor's Advocate.
  
  Alternative hip-hop group Digable Planets references Snapple numerous times on their 1993 album, Reachin' (A New Refutation of Time and Space).
  
  Comedian Mike Birbiglia references Snapple in one of his acts, saying that if the drug dealers outside of his house sold Snapple, they would get a lot of business from him.
  
  In the animated show, The Boondocks, Huey calls Snapple "The Black Man's Poison".
  
  In an episode of HBO's The Sopranos, the character Bobby Baccala tells his overweight son to "lay off the Snapple"
  
  In an episode of NBC's Seinfeld, entitled The Visa, Jerry offers Babu's brother a Snapple to which he replies, "No. Too fruity." During the fourth season, in which this episode appears, various other characters are offered Snapple, the repetition of the word becoming a small running joke.

  Snapple Theater Center

  In 2006, Snapple opened the Snapple Theater Center on 50th street and Broadway in the heart of New York City's theater district. It has two theaters, one of which is a traditional theater; the other a thrust stage which can house plays. Currently in the traditional theater, the play Perfect Crime is playing. On the thrust stage, the revival of The Fantasticks is playing. The center also includes a 40x50ft rehearsal space which is available for rent. The theaters are considered Off-Broadway because of their low seating capacities.

  External links

  • Official website
  • Snapple timeline and history
  • Discontinued Flavors at Snapple.com
  • The Snapple Dragoon at Snopes.com

  References

  1. ^ http://www.snapple.com/index.asp?Pageid=7&subid=7&contentid=7#2.
  2. ^ http://www.twoop.com/food_drink/archives/2005/10/snapple.html.
  3. ^ Daniel Gross, Starbucks' 'venti' problem, Los Angeles Times, March 4, 2007.
  4. ^ Daniel Gross, Starbucks' 'venti' problem, Los Angeles Times, March 4, 2007.
  5. ^ http://www.snapple.com/index.asp?Pageid=1&subid=1c&contentid=1b&catid=1.
  6. ^ http://www.snapple.com/index.asp?Pageid=1&subid=1d&contentid=1b&catid=3.
  7. ^ http://www.snapple.com/index.asp?Pageid=1&subid=1e&contentid=1b&catid=4.
  8. ^ http://www.snapple.com/index.asp?Pageid=1&subid=1b&contentid=1b&catid=2.
  9. ^ http://www.snapple.com/index.asp?Pageid=7&subid=7&contentid=7#10.
  10. ^ http://www.nutraingredients-usa.com/news/ng.asp?id=73363-cadbury-schweppes-hfcs-.
  11. ^ [1]
  12. ^ [2]
  13. ^ [3]
  14. ^ [4]
  15. ^ Snapple.com Real Facts. Retrieved on 2007-09-20.
  16. ^

Amos, Jonathan. Sound science is quackers. BBC News. Retrieved on 2006-11-02.
17. ^ [5]
18. ^ Harriet the turtle dead at age 175.
19. ^ Wikipedia: US Counties by size]
20. ^ [7]
21. ^ http://www.snapple.com/index.asp?Pageid=7&subid=7&contentid=7#8.
22. ^ http://www.snopes.com/rumors/snapple.htm.