RC Cola facts for kids
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| Type | Cola |
|---|---|
| Manufacturer | Keurig Dr Pepper |
| Country of origin | Columbus, Georgia, U.S. |
| Introduced | 1914 |
| Color | Caramel |
| Flavor | Cola, Cherry Cola, Orange, Lemon Lime, Berries and Cream |
| Variants | RC Cola RC No Sugar Royal Crown Cola Mighty Rain RC Q RC Refresher Double Caffeine Rad Rain RC Neo RC Flavor Collection RC Cherry Cola RC Diet Cola |
RC Cola, also known as Royal Crown Cola, is a fizzy drink called a cola. In the United States, it's owned by Keurig Dr Pepper. Around the world, it's owned by RC Global Beverages, Inc.
Contents
The Story of RC Cola
How RC Cola Started
The story of RC Cola began in 1901 in Columbus, Georgia. A grocery store called Cole-Hampton-Hatcher Grocery Store was opened. By 1903, the Hatcher family owned the store completely.
At that time, bottled soft drinks were becoming very popular. Claud A. Hatcher, who owned the grocery store, bought a lot of Coca-Cola syrup. He thought he should get a special lower price because he bought so much. But the Coca-Cola salesman, Columbus Roberts, would not lower the price. This made Hatcher very upset.
Hatcher decided he would stop buying Coca-Cola. He was determined to create his own soft drink. He started making drinks in the basement of his store. His first recipe was for ginger ale.
Early Drinks and New Names
In 1905, Claud Hatcher started his own company called Union Bottling Works. The first drink in his new line was Royal Crown Ginger Ale. Soon after, he made Royal Crown Strawberry and Royal Crown Root Beer.
In 1907, a cherry-flavored cola called Chero-Cola was introduced. The company later changed its name to Chero-Cola in 1910. In 1924, they launched a new line of fruit-flavored drinks called Nehi. Because of this, the company changed its name again in 1925 to Nehi, Inc.
Claud A. Hatcher passed away in 1933. In 1934, a chemist named Rufus Kamm improved the Chero-Cola recipe. The company then brought back the "Royal Crown" name and launched Royal Crown Cola. In 1951, the company officially changed its name from Nehi, Inc. to Royal Crown Cola Company.
New Ideas and Growth
In the 1950s, Royal Crown Cola and Moon Pies became a popular snack for workers in the American South. RC Cola was also a leader in new packaging. In 1954, it was the first company to sell soft drinks in a can. Later, it was also the first to sell them in an aluminum can.
In 1954, the company also introduced Diet Rite. This was a brand of diet drinks, and its cola version was the first diet cola ever sold. During the 1970s, Royal Crown Cola started selling its drinks in more countries around the world, including places in Asia and Europe.
In 1980, RC 100 was launched. This was a cola without sugar and without caffeine. By 1984, RC Cola was one of the top soft drinks in the United States. In 1985, Cherry RC was introduced, and Diet RC came out in 1986.
In 1995, Royal Crown Draft Cola was released. It was a special "premium" cola made with real cane sugar and natural flavors. It was sold in bottles, but it was later stopped in most places.
Who Owns RC Cola?
Over the years, RC Cola has been owned by several different companies.
In 1993, Triarc Companies, Inc. bought the Royal Crown Cola Company. Then, in 2000, Cadbury Schweppes bought Triarc's drink business, which included RC Cola. Cadbury Schweppes also owned Dr Pepper.
In 2008, Cadbury Schweppes' U.S. drink business became its own company called Dr Pepper Snapple Group. This group then merged with Keurig Green Mountain in 2018, forming Keurig Dr Pepper. Keurig Dr Pepper is the current owner of the RC Cola brand in the United States.
For international business (outside the U.S.), Royal Crown Cola International was sold to Cott Beverages of Canada in 2001. In 2021, Cott sold it to Refresco. At the same time, Refresco sold it to RC Global Beverages Inc. In 2023, a company from the Philippines called Macay Holdings bought RC Global Beverages Inc.
Different Kinds of RC Cola Drinks
RC Cola has made many different drinks over the years. Here are some of them:
| Name | Year | What it is |
|---|---|---|
| RC Ginger Ale | 1905 | A ginger ale drink. |
| RC Strawberry | 1907 | A strawberry-flavored drink. |
| RC Root Beer | 1907 | A root beer drink. |
| Chero-Cola | 1910 | A cola with a cherry flavor. |
| Nehi | 1924 | A group of fruit-flavored drinks like orange, grape, and peach. |
| RC Cola | 1934 | The original RC Cola drink. |
| Diet Rite | 1954 | The first diet cola on the market. |
| Kick | 1965 | A citrus soft drink, similar to Mountain Dew. |
| RC Cola with a Twist | 1969 | RC Cola with lemon flavor. |
| RC 100 | 1980 | A sugar-free, caffeine-free RC Cola. |
| Cherry RC | 1985 | RC cola with cherry flavor. |
| Diet RC / RC Zero Sugar | 1986 | A diet RC cola. It was renamed RC Zero Sugar in 2024. |
| RC Draft Cola | 1995 | A special cola made with cane sugar. |
| RC Edge | 1999 | A cola with extra caffeine. |
| RC Cola Zero/RC Cola Free | 2009 | A no-calorie, no-sugar RC Cola sold internationally. |
| RC Kick | 2010 | RC Cola with guarana for extra energy. |
| Jeera | 2012 | A soda with a cumin taste, made for markets in South-Central Asia. |
| RC Dra-Cola | 2012 | A sugar-free, red cola for Halloween in the British market. |
| RC Ten | 2012 | A low-calorie version of the cola. |
| RC Cola Double Caffeine | 2022 | RC Cola with twice the amount of caffeine. |
| RC Flavor Collection | 2023 | New flavors like vanilla, lime, apple, coffee, marshmallow, and winter spice. |
| RC Cola Berries and Cream | 2023 | A special flavor mixing cola with berries and cream. |
RC Cola Advertisements
RC Cola has used many different advertising campaigns over the years.
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In the 1930s, a slogan was "The season's best." In 1940, a campaign featured Hollywood stars with the slogan "Best By Taste Test." Actress Lizabeth Scott was featured saying, "RC tastes best."
In 1966, Royal Crown Cola worked with Jim Henson, who created the Muppets. They made commercials with two bird puppets called Sour Bird and Nutty Bird. Nutty Bird would talk about how good Royal Crown Cola was.
Nancy Sinatra was in two Royal Crown Cola commercials in her TV special Movin' With Nancy in 1967. She sang, "It's a mad, mad, mad Cola...RC the one with the mad, mad taste!...RC!" RC Cola was also a sponsor of the New York Mets baseball team for many years.
In the mid-1970s, Royal Crown used the "Me & My RC" advertisements. These ads showed people in beautiful outdoor places. Singer Louise Mandrell sang the jingle, "Me and my RC / Me and my RC /'Cause what's good enough / For other folks / Ain't good enough for Me and My RC..."
When RC Cola was introduced in Israel in 1995, the slogan was "RC: Just like in America!" During the "Cola Wars" of the 1980s, RC used the campaign "Decide for yourself" and reminded people, "There's more to your life than Coke and Pepsi."
In the Philippines, RC Cola has featured popular artists in its ads. In 2019, they launched the "RC ng Bayan" campaign. In 2020, RC Cola had a famous campaign called Basta. This ad showed a boy asking his mother if he was adopted because he had glasses stuck to his back. This creative ad won many awards, including at the Cannes Lion and Clio Awards.
Race car driver Marco Andretti had RC Cola as his main sponsor for his IndyCar Series car in 2012 and 2013.
In 2022, RC Cola launched its "WHY NOT?" campaign. These ads showed three adults who, after drinking RC Cola, were taken to a world full of imagination.
