Crush (drink) facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Crush

Type	Soft drink
Manufacturer	Keurig Dr Pepper
Distributor	PepsiCo (North America) The Coca-Cola Company (Syria and Lebanon) Compañía de Cervecerías Unidas (Chile)
Introduced	1911; 114 years ago (1911)
Related products	Fanta, Nehi, Orange Slice, Sunkist, Mirinda

Crush is a well-known brand of fizzy drinks, also called soft drinks. It is owned and sold around the world by a company called Keurig Dr Pepper. Crush first started as an orange soda called Orange Crush. It was created in 1911 by a chemist named Neil C. Ward. This was many years before another famous orange soda, Fanta, was made by Coca-Cola. Most Crush flavors do not have caffeine in them.

The Story of Crush

Poster for Ward's Orange Crush, around 1921

The story of Crush began in 1911. A man named Clayton J. Howel, who was the head of the Orange Crush Company, teamed up with Neil C. Ward. Neil C. Ward was the person who created the special recipe for Orange Crush.

Clayton J. Howel already knew a lot about making soft drinks. He had made another drink before called Howel's Orange Julep. Back then, it was common for soft drinks to have the inventor's last name in their title. Since Howel had already used his name for his first drink, Neil C. Ward got the honor. That's why the drink was first called Ward's Orange Crush.

When Orange Crush first came out, it had tiny bits of orange pulp inside the bottles. This made it look like the drink was freshly squeezed, even though the pulp was added later. However, the pulp has not been in the bottles for many decades now.

Who Owned Crush?

Over the years, Crush has been owned by different companies. In 1980, a big company called Procter & Gamble bought Crush. They made the concentrated syrup that bottlers would mix with water and fizz to create the drink.

Later, in 1989, Cadbury Schweppes bought Crush USA from Procter & Gamble. Then, in 2008, Cadbury Schweppes separated its drink business in the United States. This part of the company became what is now Keurig Dr Pepper.

Bottle Designs Over Time

The look of Crush bottles has changed several times. The first Orange Crush bottles were clear glass and had a ribbed or "Krinkly" design. In 1937, a brown (amber) glass bottle was introduced, also with the "Krinkly" design. This was known as the "Krinkly Brown" bottle.

The bottle design changed again in 1955. The amber glass and the "krinkles" were removed. This new bottle was called "the Big New Bottle." It was designed to make the drink look bigger and more elegant.

Crush Around the World

Today, the Crush brand is owned by Keurig Dr Pepper, which is based in Frisco, Texas. Crush is also very popular in Canada. There, it is sold by a company that is part of Canada Dry Motts. In the United States, many Pepsi bottling companies help distribute Crush.

Crush is sold in many other countries too. You can find it in places like Argentina, Colombia, Chile, Guatemala, Mexico, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Syria, and Uruguay. In Chile, a company called Compañía de Cervecerías Unidas has been selling Crush since the 1940s. Interestingly, in some countries in Latin America, The Coca-Cola Company sells Crush. They even use the same colors and bottles as their own drink, Fanta.

Many Flavors

In North America, you can usually find several Crush flavors in most stores. These often include Orange, Diet Orange, Grape, Strawberry, and Pineapple. However, some other flavors are only sold in smaller areas. For example, Pineapple Crush, Birch Beer Crush, and Lime Crush are popular in the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador and in Fort McMurray, Alberta.

Since 2009, changes in bottling rights have allowed many of these regional flavors to be sold by the Pepsi Bottling Group in most of their areas in the United States. Also, PepsiAmerica can now sell Crush in most of its territory.

Crush Flavors

See also

In Spanish: Crush (refresco) para niños

• Orange Crush Bottling Plant