Shasta (drink) facts for kids
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Shasta Twist sculpture at the Shasta headquarters in Hayward, California
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| Industry | Beverages |
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| Founded | 1889, California |
| Headquarters |
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United States
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Area served
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United States |
| Products | soft drinks, drink mixers |
| Parent | National Beverage Corp. |
| Subsidiaries | Shasta Beverages, Intl., Inc. Shasta Sales, Inc. Shasta Sweetener Corp. Shasta West, Inc. |
Shasta Beverages is an American company that makes many different kinds of sodas. They are known for offering a wide range of flavors at a good price. The company also makes some drink mixers. The name "Shasta" comes from Mount Shasta in northern California and the nearby Shasta Springs.
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The Story of Shasta
Shasta started way back in 1889. It was first called "The Shasta Mineral Springs Company." It began at the base of Mt. Shasta, California. In 1928, its name changed to "The Shasta Water Company." At first, the company mostly sold bottled mineral water from the Shasta Springs. This water was sent by train to different places to be bottled.
In 1931, Shasta made its very first soft drink, which was a ginger ale. For many years, until the 1950s, Shasta mainly made mixers. These included mineral water, club soda, and ginger ale.
During the 1950s, Shasta came up with new ways to sell its drinks. These ideas became common for other companies too! Shasta was one of the first to put soft drinks in cans. They also started making low-calorie, or "diet," soft drinks. Plus, they began sending cans and bottles directly to grocery stores.
By the 1960s, Shasta was a popular brand of sodas and mixers. It was well-known in most of the western United States and parts of the Southwest. In the 1960s, a company called Consolidated Foods bought Shasta. This company later became Sara Lee. Shasta's name then changed to "Shasta Beverages." In 1985, another company, National Beverage Corp., bought Shasta. This company also owns the Faygo soda brand.
Shasta's Ads
In the early 1980s, Shasta started selling its drinks all over the country. They also spent more money on advertising. In 1983, Shasta's ad company hired a musician named Al Jourgensen. He was a rising star in synth-pop music. He wrote and sang a short song, called a jingle, for a Shasta TV commercial.
Shasta Flavors
Shasta makes many different kinds of soft drinks and mixers today. There are 34 flavors in total!
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Old Flavors
Shasta Beverages used to make these soft drink flavors, but they are not sold anymore. Some of these were special flavors for different tastes, introduced in 2007.
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In 1993, Shasta Beverages made special flavors for kids. These included Mario Punch and Princess Toadstool Cherry. They came in small 8-ounce cans.
From 2003 to 2006, Shasta sold drinks called "Shasta Shortz." These were also made for kids. Shasta Shortz came in 8-ounce cans and had sweeter, candy-like flavors. Some of these were Bubble Gum, Camo Orange Creme, Chillin' Cherry Punch, Cotton Candy, Rah-Rah Root Beer, and Red Grape Stain.
What's Inside Shasta Drinks?
Shasta Beverages uses high-fructose corn syrup to make their regular drinks sweet. For their diet soft drinks, they use sucralose and acesulfame potassium. These are called non-nutritive sweeteners because they don't add calories. Some of their sugary drinks, like their cola, use both high-fructose corn syrup and sucralose.
Here are some ingredients for a few of their sodas, listed from the most to the least:
- Diet Cola: carbonated water, caramel color, phosphoric acid, citric acid, potassium citrate, sucralose, potassium benzoate (a way to keep it fresh), caffeine, acesulfame potassium, natural flavor.
- Root Beer: carbonated water, high-fructose corn syrup, caramel color, natural and artificial flavors, potassium benzoate (to keep it fresh), sucralose.
- Tiki Punch: carbonated water, high-fructose corn syrup, citric acid, potassium benzoate, gum acacia, natural and artificial flavor, glyceryl abietate, red 40.
- Orange Soda: carbonated water, high-fructose corn syrup, citric acid, potassium benzoate (to keep it fresh), modified corn starch, glyceryl acetate, natural flavor, yellow 6, vitamin C (ascorbic acid), sucralose, calcium disodium EDTA, red 40.
- Black Cherry: carbonated water, high-fructose corn syrup, citric acid, natural and artificial flavors, potassium benzoate (to keep it fresh), caramel color, red 40, sucralose, blue 1.
- Creme Soda: carbonated water, high-fructose corn syrup, potassium benzoate, citric acid, caramel color, artificial flavor, sucralose.
Images for kids
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A vintage billboard for Shasta Orange Soda in San Francisco, California (2004).
