Jean-Claude Beton facts for kids
Jean-Claude Beton (born January 14, 1925 – died December 2, 2013) was a French businessman and engineer. He was born in Algeria. Beton was the person who started the famous French soft drink company, Orangina. He is known for turning Orangina from a small drink, first made by his father, Léon Beton, into a huge brand known all over the world.
In 1951, Beton launched Orangina's special 8-ounce bottle. This bottle became a symbol of the brand. It looks like an orange, with a glass texture that feels like the fruit. In 2009, Beton called Orangina the "champagne of soft drinks." He said it had no added colors, was slightly fizzy, and came in its unique "bulby bottle."
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Jean-Claude Beton's Story
How Orangina Began
Jean-Claude Beton was born in Boufarik, French Algeria, on January 14, 1925. In 1935, his father, Léon Beton, who owned a shop, bought the recipe for a citrus drink concentrate. It was called Naranjina back then. A Spanish pharmacist named Dr. Trigo invented it. The first recipe had a mix of citrus juices and sugar.
Léon Beton worked on Dr. Trigo's recipe. He added sparkling water and new natural flavor oils. Léon also changed the drink's name from Naranjina to Orangina. However, World War II made it hard for Léon Beton to sell his drink in Europe.
Building the Orangina Brand
Jean-Claude Beton took over the company from his father in 1947. But he didn't restart Orangina production until January 23, 1951. This date was also his wife Madeleine's birthday! Beton began making Orangina using oranges from nearby groves in Boufarik. Jean-Claude Beton kept most of the original recipe. He sold it to people in Europe and North Africa. He opened a family factory in his hometown of Boufarik.
Orangina quickly became popular across French North Africa. French soldiers even enjoyed it during the Algerian War. Later in 1951, Beton introduced the drink to France.
In 1951, Jean-Claude Beton also launched Orangina's iconic 8-ounce bottle. This bottle became a symbol of the brand. It looks like an orange, with a glass texture that feels like the fruit. Beton was very good at marketing. He insisted that the bottle's shape and design stay the same. This was even though some restaurants and stores complained that the bottles were hard to stack. In 2009, Beton said he "got lots of complaints from café owners who could not fit the bottle in their fridges." Besides looking like an orange, Beton also said the bottle had "a waist like a wasp and the bottom of a princess." He also refused to change Orangina's recipe, which includes citrus pulp, even when shop owners asked him to. Beton later used TV ads to tell people to shake the bottle before drinking. This mixes the pulp evenly.
The first Orangina logo included an orange peel. This was because French law didn't allow a full orange in the logo. The drink had a low percentage of fruit juice. Beton hired an artist named Bernard Villemot. Villemot created the image of an Orangina bottle with an orange peel on top, shaped like an umbrella. He used orange colors against a blue background. This reminded people of the Mediterranean Sea. This design followed French rules while still showing parts of the citrus fruit. Villemot's and Beton's design quickly became linked with France's success after the war. The image was very popular, and Orangina sold 50 million bottles in 1957 alone.
In 1962, after the Algerian War, Beton moved his family's Orangina factory from Boufarik to Marseille. This was just before Algeria became independent. He kept promoting Orangina a lot after the company moved. In 1978, Orangina was launched in the United States. It was first called Orelia, but later changed back to Orangina. In 1986, after he sold the company, a very tall sculpture of an Orangina bottle was put up outside a subway station in Paris. This was to celebrate the drink's fiftieth anniversary.
Later Years and Legacy
Jean-Claude Beton sold Orangina to Pernod Ricard in 1984. He stayed in charge of Orangina until he retired in 1989. The brand was owned by different companies over the years. In 1997, The Coca-Cola Company wanted to buy Orangina for a lot of money. But the French government stopped the sale. They said it could create unfair competition in the country's drink market. Coca-Cola tried to buy Orangina again in 1998, but it also failed. Today, Orangina, officially called Orangina Schweppes, is owned by a company called Suntory.
Orangina was not made in Algeria again until 2003. A new factory opened there through a franchise agreement. Beton went back to Algeria for the first time since 1967 to attend the opening. He also visited the place where his first factory in Boufarik used to be.
After selling Orangina in 1984, Beton worked on other things. He bought several olive groves to produce olive oil. He also bought the Château Grand Ormeaux winery in Bordeaux in the 1980s.
Jean-Claude Beton passed away in Marseille on December 2, 2013, at 88 years old. The Mayor of Marseille, Jean-Claude Gaudin, announced his death. He was survived by his wife, Madeleine, and their two children, Eric and Françoise.
