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Through wars and depressions, social upheaval and technological innovation, one humble beverage has persevered for over a century, its history intertwined with that of America itself.
This is the illustrious history of RC Cola, born in 1905 amidst the Progressive Era that saw women's suffrage and trust-busting, coming of age through two World Wars, the rise of radio and movies, the tumult of the 1960s, the emergence of the Internet age, and now still thriving in our modern world.
As we trace the origins and evolution of this iconic soda pop, we glimpse the changing tides of our nation as well over these eventful decades.
It was in the year 1905 when the first seeds of the RC Cola empire were sown, arising from humble beginnings in the basement of the Hatcher family's grocery store in Cusseta, Georgia.
Spurred by a quarrel with a obstinate Coca-Cola syrup salesman named Columbus Roberts, store owner Claud Hatcher channeled his frustration into the creation of a ginger ale that would serve as the founding product for his new Union Bottling Works venture.
Thus the Royal Crown line was born, though none could have predicted then that this upstart beverage enterprise would one day grow into the famous RC Cola brand we know today.
As the tempestuous second decade of the twentieth century dawned, Claud Hatcher set his innovative sights on a new flavor sensation—cola.
The Union Bottling Works brought forth unto the thirsty American market a caramel-hued elixir by the moniker of Chero-Cola in the year 1910.
Though its reception appeared positive, after a quarter century the Chero recipe was reformulated and subsequently reborn under the regal title of "Royal Crown Cola", or "RC Cola" as it is commonly known today, bringing to life the famous cola flavor we have sipper for generations since its royal rechristening in 1934.
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As the United States found itself amidst a boom of post-war economic prosperity in the 1950s, the Southern American working-class discovered an affordable respite from their laborious days in the unique pairing of Royal Crown's famed cola and the humble MoonPie.
This blue-collar lunch staple would emerge as a cultural signature of the American South during this seminal decade, becoming forever intertwined with the regional identity and cementing RC Cola's place in the annals of culinary history.
Ever innovators in their field, the ingenious minds at Royal Crown shattered existing paradigms in 1954 when they pioneered the novel concept of offering their popular soft drink to the masses in canned form.
Further cementing their industry dominance, RC Cola’s forward-thinking leadership again broke new ground by becoming the premiere beverage enterprise to transition its wares to aluminum cans, setting the standard for how thirst-quenching sodas would be purveyed for generations henceforth.
Proving its prophetic understanding of consumer palates yet again in 1958, Royal Crown’s analytics glimpsed an unmet demand for reduced-calorie soda options—spurring the release of Diet Rite that very year, the world's pioneering diet cola.
Once fears of its chemical composition were assuaged, Diet Rite was presented to the wider public marketplace in 1962, laying the groundwork for today's booming industry catering to the calorie-conscious through this visionary creation of RC’s.
Over the decades, the innovative enterprise we now know as Royal Crown underwent a metamorphosis of monikers—from its inception as Union Bottling Works to being christened Nehi, Inc. in 1925 after its beloved fruit-flavored soda.
Before finally taking up the majestic Royal Crown name in 1951 that would become synonymous with fizzy deliciousness in generations to come.
As the freewheeling 1970s saw an ascendance of multinational conglomerates and rapidly expanding world trade, Royal Crown set their sights beyond American shores, leveraging the era’s globalization to launch international marketing campaigns that introduced their beloved cola to receptive consumers across Asia and Europe.
Heralding a new chapter for this once-smalltown soda maker into a worldwide name synonymous with fizzy, refreshing taste.
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As the cultural dominance of Coca-Cola and Pepsi continued expanding from coast to coast throughout the 1980s, Royal Crown valiantly held its own, capturing the thirsts and tastes of around 4 to 5 percent of American soft drink consumers by 1984.
Though a seemingly paltry share compared to its titanic rivals’ sales, RC Cola’s committed customer base proved a lucrative market foothold amidst the fiercely-waged Cola Wars of the era.
Seeking to elevate their beverage to upper echelons of refinement in 1995, Royal Crown’s craftsmen painstakingly formulated a premium incarnation of their cherished cola, adopting the nomenclature “Royal Crown Draft Cola” to distinguish this gourmet iteration from its conventional counterpart on store shelves.
By sweetening their new draft beverage solely with luscious pure cane sugar instead of common high-fructose corn syrup, Royal Crown endowed their creation with an illustrious air worthy of a fine champagne—catering to connoisseurs craving sophistication from an oft-pedestrian soft drink.
As the millennium dawned, Royal Crown Cola's destiny became inexorably intertwined with longtime industry peer Dr Pepper, when Cadbury Schweppes purchased RC's parent corporation Triarc Beverages in 2000.
This placed the venerable cola maker under the same banner as Dr Pepper and Schweppes.
Following Cadbury’s spin-off of its beverages division as the Dr Pepper Snapple Group in 2008, RC Cola has remained a cornerstone brand of what is now the Keurig Dr Pepper empire, as the third-largest soft drink company in the United States.
As the roaring 2020s pick up steam, Royal Crown continues demonstrating the innovative spirit of its founder by expanding its flavor profile to tempt modern palates.
2023 sees the rollout of six new cola varieties including sweet vanilla, zesty lime, tart apple, robust coffee, pillowy marshmallow and warming winter spice—an explosion of options cementing this legacy brand's focus on crafting tastes to satisfy America's ever-evolving thirst.
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