A-Treat Bottling Company facts for kids
| Private | |
| Industry | Beverage |
| Founded | 1918 |
| Headquarters |
Allentown, Pennsylvania, U.S.
|
|
Area served
|
Northeastern United States |
| Products | Carbonated soft drinks |
| Revenue |  $10 million (1998) |
The A-Treat Bottling Company was a company that made and bottled A-Treat brand sodas. It was based in Allentown, Pennsylvania. A-Treat stopped making sodas on January 23, 2015. However, a company called Jaindl Companies bought the brand, and production started again soon after.
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History of A-Treat Sodas
Starting the Company
A-Treat was started by the Munjone family. James J. Munjone began a drink business in his family's home in Allentown, Pennsylvania, in 1918. He later built a small factory behind his house. After James passed away, his sister, Vincenza Munjone, and her husband, Gioacchino Egizio, took over the business.
In 1932, the Egizio brothers moved the company to a new location on Union Boulevard in East Allentown. The company is still there today. Joseph C. Egizio was the chairman of A-Treat Bottling Co. until he retired in 1989. John L. Egizio, who started working at the company at age 13 delivering sodas on his bicycle, was a vice president and co-owner.
False Rumors and a Fresh Start
In 1991, A-Treat was in the news because false rumors were spread about its sodas. These rumors tried to stop A-Treat from selling its drinks in New York City. Investigations by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the New York City Department of Health found that these claims were completely untrue.
On July 21, 2015, it was announced that Jaindl Companies had bought the A-Treat brand. This included its name, logos, and secret soda recipes. A deal was made with The Coca-Cola Company to keep making A-Treat sodas in the Lehigh Valley. Production was set to begin again in August 2015.
Choosing New Flavors
On July 27, 2015, a poll was held to let people vote on which flavors A-Treat should make first. Orange Cream won with 17% of the votes. It was later found that one person had voted over 10,000 times using a special trick. Black Cherry came in second with 8% of the votes.
Production of these two flavors started right away. They joined eight other flavors that were already planned: Birch Beer, Cream, Big Blue, Ginger Ale, Sarsaparilla, Orange, Root Beer, and Grapefruit. A-Treat Grapefruit was a very popular flavor and was the first soda to be made when A-Treat returned in 2015.
On May 20, 2016, A-Treat launched Orange Cream. This was its first new flavor in more than six years.
A-Treat Soda Flavors
A-Treat used to make its sodas in a traditional way. This meant using natural oils and cane sugar instead of artificial flavors and high fructose corn syrup. By the time production stopped in 2015, the company was using both cane sugar syrup and high fructose corn syrup.
A-Treat made soft drinks in at least 16 different flavors. Some of these included Big Blue (blue raspberry), Birch Beer, Black Cherry, Champagne Kola, Cola, Cream soda, Fruit Punch, and two kinds of Ginger Ale. They also made Grape, Grapefruit, White Birch Beer, Pineapple, Sarsaparilla, and two kinds of Orange. Other flavors were Lime, Tonic Water, Strawberry, Treat-up, and Root Beer. Many of these flavors were also available in a diet version. A-Treat Birch Beer and Sarsaparilla are especially liked by people who enjoy these types of drinks.
Where A-Treat is Sold
A-Treat sodas are sold in several states in the Northeastern United States. You can find them in Pennsylvania, Maryland, New Jersey, Virginia, West Virginia, and Delaware. They are also sold in Bermuda.
