Silver Spring Soft Drinks facts for kids
Silver Spring Soft Drinks Ltd was a company that made many different soft drinks. Its main factory was in Folkestone, Kent, in the United Kingdom. The company started way back in 1886. For a long time, it was known as the Silver Spring Mineral Water Company.
In 2009, the company got new owners. Then, it was sold again in 2010. The new company ran into financial trouble in 2012 and eventually closed down in early 2013. Silver Spring made popular drinks like Perfectly Clear and Rola Cola. They also made drinks for supermarkets under their own brand names.
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A Look Back: Silver Spring's History
The Silver Spring Mineral Water Company began making fizzy drinks in Folkestone in 1888. It first started at a place called Grace Hill. By the late 1890s, the company grew bigger. It moved to a larger building on Foord Road.
In 1946, Silver Spring joined with another local company called Harris of Hythe. They continued to grow in 1969 by taking over Star Mineral of Whitstable. In 1970, the company moved again to a new, modern factory. During the 1970s, they created their well-known brands, Rola Cola and Spring Up.
New Bottles and Popular Drinks
In 1982, Silver Spring was the first company in Great Britain to start using P.E.T. plastic bottles for 2-litre drinks. These bottles were lighter and stronger. Soon after, they began making drinks for supermarkets to sell under their own labels.
On May 6, 1995, Silver Spring launched a new drink called Perfectly Clear. This was a flavoured mineral water. In just two years, Perfectly Clear became very popular. It was the 4th best-selling fizzy drink in the UK. By 2008, the company was making over 250 million bottles of drinks every year!
Financial Troubles and Closure
Even with the success of Perfectly Clear, the family-owned company faced problems. On September 16, 2009, it went into a process called administration. This means a special team took over to try and fix its money issues.
Later, a company called Privet Capital bought Silver Spring's assets. They renamed it Silver Spring Soft Drinks Company Ltd. This new company kept selling the popular Silver Spring products.
However, Silver Spring Soft Drinks Company Ltd also ran into trouble. It entered administration in October 2012. Production of drinks stopped in December 2012. The company was finally closed down completely.
In 2013, another drinks company, CBL Drinks, bought the old Silver Spring brands.
Silver Spring's Products
Silver Spring drinks were very common in Kent, where the company was based. Many of their drinks, like the 'Perfectly Clear' flavoured water, were sold all over the country. However, some drinks were only sold in Kent. This made the company feel very local to people there.
Most of their products were common drinks like cola or mineral water. But they also made a unique soft drink called Bing. This drink was very popular in Kent. Their lemonade was known by its special name, Spring Up.
Silver Spring had been making drinks in Folkestone since 1870. It was a company since 1886. It stayed independent for a very long time, until its final years. The company kept many old ways of doing things. For example, they made their own glass and plastic bottles. They even said they had the last factory in the United Kingdom that made glass drinks bottles.
In 2007, Silver Spring also started making Virgin Cola for a while.
