Sprite (drink) facts for kids
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| Type | Lemon-lime |
|---|---|
| Manufacturer | The Coca-Cola Company |
| Country of origin | Germany (drink) United States (branding) |
| Introduced | 1961 |
| Color | Colorless |
| Variants | See variations below |
| Related products | 7 Up, Starry, Mitsuya Cider |
Sprite is a clear, fizzy drink that tastes like lemon and lime. It's made by the Coca-Cola Company. You can find Sprite in many other flavors too, like cranberry, cherry, grape, orange, and pineapple. Some versions of Sprite are made with special sweeteners instead of sugar. Sprite was first created to compete with another popular lemon-lime drink called 7 Up.
Contents
History of Sprite
The name "Sprite" was first used around 1955 for different flavored drinks. A bottler from Houston, Texas, named T. C. "Bud" Evans, came up with the name. The Coca-Cola Company bought the rights to the name in 1960.
The lemon-lime drink we know as Sprite today was first made in West Germany in 1959. It was called Fanta Klare Zitrone, which means "Fanta Clear Lemon." In 1961, it was brought to the United States and given the name Sprite. It quickly became a rival to 7 Up.
How Sprite is Marketed
Sprite ads often use the fun word "lymon." This word combines "lemon" and "lime." Also, if you look closely at a Sprite bottle, you'll see several curved spots. These spots are designed to look like the bubbles in the soda.
By the 1980s, many teenagers loved Sprite. So, in 1987, Sprite started making ads just for them. Their first long-running slogan was "I Like the Sprite In You." Many catchy songs were made for this slogan until 1994.
In 1993, a new slogan was created: "Control your thirst." The new Sprite logo was brighter and stood out more. It had a blue-to-green color change with silver splashes and small white bubbles. The word "Sprite" had a blue shadow behind it. The old words "Great Lymon Taste!" were removed from the logo. This logo was used in the United States until 2006. Similar versions were used in other countries too.
The brand's slogan then changed to "Obey Your Thirst." The songs in the ads became more urban and featured hip-hop music. One of the first lines for this new slogan was, "never forget yourself 'cause first things first, grab a cold, cold can, and obey your thirst." With "Obey Your Thirst," Sprite connected with hip-hop culture. They featured rising and underground rap artists in their TV commercials. These artists included LL Cool J, A Tribe Called Quest, KRS-One, Missy Elliott, Grand Puba, Common, Fat Joe, and Nas. Sprite also expanded its urban connections in the late 1990s. They showed both amateur and professional basketball players in their advertisements.
In the 1990s, one of Sprite's most famous ad campaigns was "Grant Hill Drinks Sprite." This campaign was part of the "Obey Your Thirst" campaign. It humorously exaggerated the basketball player's skills and how Sprite helped him.
In 2000, Sprite asked graffiti artist Temper to create special art. This art appeared on 100 million cans across Europe.
In 2004, Coca-Cola created Miles Thirst. This was a vinyl doll voiced by Reno Wilson. It was used in ads to reach the hip-hop market for soft drinks.
In 2006, a new Sprite logo appeared on bottles and cans. It had two yellow and green parts that formed an "S" shape, looking like a lemon and lime. The slogan in the United States changed from "Obey Your Thirst" to just "Obey." In many other countries, it was replaced with "Freedom From Thirst." This was the first big change in advertising themes for Sprite in that decade.
The "Sublymonal" campaign was also used in a special online game called the Lost Experience. This campaign also brought back the word "lymon."
Sprite changed its label again in 2009, removing the "S" logo.
In the mid-2010s, famous NBA players like LeBron James and Trae Young appeared in Sprite ads. Hip-hop artists such as Vince Staples and Lil Yachty also featured in these ads.
In July 2022, the Coca-Cola Company announced a big change. Sprite would stop using its green plastic bottles on August 1. Instead, they would switch to clear plastic bottles. The green plastic contains a special additive that makes it harder to recycle into new bottles.
In 2022, Australia launched new lemon-flavored versions called Sprite Lemon+ and Sprite Lemon+ Zero Sugar.
In 2024, Sprite-mint became available in some parts of Asia.
Changes to Sprite's Recipe
In France in 2012, Sprite's recipe was changed. They removed 30% of the sugar and added a sweetener called stevia. This made the drink have fewer calories. This change soon spread to Ireland, the UK, the Netherlands, and Poland in 2013.
Another recipe change happened in the UK in 2018. This was done because of a new tax on sugary drinks. The new recipe reduced the sugar even more. It replaced stevia with aspartame and acesulfame K. This recipe was later used in other parts of the world due to similar sugar taxes.
In the Netherlands in March 2017, Coca-Cola said that Sprite would only be sold as a sugar-free drink. The regular Sprite was stopped, and Sprite Zero was simply renamed "Sprite." This change also came to Ireland in 2018.
In Australia, Sprite was relaunched in August 2019 with a new recipe. It had 40% less sugar than the old Sprite. This version did not use aspartame. Instead, it used sucralose along with acesulfame K.
In March 2023, Coca-Cola announced another recipe change for Sprite and Sprite Zero Sugar in the United Kingdom. This was to make the two versions more different. The new recipe has a little more sugar but still uses aspartame and acesulfame K. Some countries like France, Poland, and Germany use a similar lower-sugar recipe but do not use any artificial sweeteners.
Wanna Sprite Cranberry?
In November 2017, Sprite released a famous ad for its Sprite Cranberry flavor. It featured basketball star LeBron James and rapper DRAM. The ad was animated in a style like old holiday cartoons, such as Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. It showed a lively family gathering during the holidays. LeBron enters and asks, "Wanna Sprite Cranberry?"
This commercial became very popular online and turned into a meme. Especially the line "Wanna Sprite Cranberry" and LeBron's character in the ad were often used in holiday memes. The commercial was even changed by The Coca-Cola Company to feature Winter Spiced Cranberry. This happened after Sprite Cranberry was no longer sold.
Variations of Sprite
| Name | Launched | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Sprite | 1961 | The original lemon-lime drink. |
| Sprite Zero Sugar | 1974 | Sprite without the sugar. It was first called "Sugar Free Sprite" in 1974. Then it became "Diet Sprite" in 1983. In 2004, it was renamed "Sprite Zero" in many countries. In 2019, it became "Sprite Zero Sugar" to match other Coca-Cola "Zero Sugar" drinks. |
| Sprite Lemon-Lime Herb | 1970s | Sprite with a herb taste. It was only sold in Germany. |
| Chinotto | 1990s (purchased by Coca-Cola) | This is what Sprite is called in Venezuela. It was originally a separate drink. Coca-Cola bought the company and later changed its look to be like Sprite. |
| Recharge by Sprite | Early 2000s | An energy drink version of Sprite sold in Australia until 2006. It was also turquoise, unlike regular clear Sprite. |
| Sprite Ice | 2002 | Sprite with a cool, minty taste. It was first released as "Sprite Blue" in Korea in 2002. It has been sold under different names like "Sprite Ice" in Canada and "Sprite Icy Mint" in China. |
| Sprite Remix Tropical | 2003 | Sprite with tropical fruit flavors. This was the first in the Sprite Remix series in the United States. It was sold from 2003 to 2004. |
| Sprite Super Lemon | 2003 | A Slurpee version of Sprite, released in Hong Kong in 2003. |
| Sprite on Fire | 2004 | Sprite with a ginger flavor. It was advertised as having a "burning" feeling. It came out in Hong Kong in 2003 and China in 2004. |
| Sprite Remix BerryClear | 2004 | Sprite with berry flavors. This was the second in the Sprite Remix series in the United States. It was sold from 2004 to 2005. |
| Sprite Remix Aruba Jam | 2005 | Sprite with fruit flavors. This was the last in the Sprite Remix series in the United States. It was sold from 2005 to 2006. |
| Sprite 3G | 2005 | An energy drink version of Sprite. It was launched in the United Kingdom in 2005. It contained glucose, caffeine, and guarana. It was stopped in the UK in 2007. |
| Sprite Duo | 2007 | A Sprite version with less fizz and more lemon juice. It was only released in Spain in 2007. |
| Sprite Green | 2009 | A Sprite version sweetened with Truvia, a natural zero-calorie sweetener. It was not very popular and was stopped soon after it came out. |
| Sprite (Stevia Formula) | 2012 | In 2012, Sprite in France changed its recipe to use stevia and have less sugar. This spread to other countries like the UK. Some countries later changed the formula again or went back to sugar. |
| Sprite Cranberry | 2013–2018 | Sprite with cranberry and spice flavors. It was sold during the holiday season from 2013 to 2018. An ad for this drink featuring LeBron James became a popular internet meme. |
| Sprite 6 Mix | 2014 | Sprite with added cherry and orange flavors. It was a special collaboration with LeBron James in the United States in 2014. It was sold again as "Sprite LeBron's Mix" in 2015. |
| Sprite Blast | 2014 | Sprite with sweet and sour flavors. It was released for summer 2014 in the United States, mainly at 7-Eleven stores. It was also released in New Zealand in 2017. |
| Sprite Tropical | 2015 | This was a re-release of Sprite Remix Tropical. It was sold for a limited time in 2015 and again as "Sprite Tropical Mix" in 2016. |
| Sprite Cucumber | 2017 | Sprite with a cucumber flavor. It launched in Russia in 2017 and Romania in 2018. In 2021, the Russian version was available in the United States at Epcot in Walt Disney World. |
| Sprite Cherry | 2017 | Sprite with a cherry flavor. It launched in 2017 in the United States as a regular flavor. |
| MIX by Sprite: Tropic Berry | 2018 | Sprite with a tropical berry flavor. It was similar to Sprite Tropical Mix and only available at McDonald's soda fountains. |
| Sprite Winter Spiced Cranberry | 2019–present | Released in 2019 for the holidays, this replaced Sprite Cranberry. Some fans have mixed feelings about the flavor. |
| Sprite Lymonade | 2019 | Sprite mixed with lemonade and a little bit of lemon juice. |
| Sprite 40% Less Sugar | 2019 | Sprite relaunched in Australia in August 2019 with a new recipe. It had 40% less sugar and used different sweeteners. |
| Sprite Ginger | 2020 | Sprite with an added taste of ginger to go with the lemon-lime flavor. |
| Sprite Lemon+ | 2022 | A lighter and tangier Sprite with caffeine. Sold in Australia. |
| Sprite Lymonade Legacy | 2023 | A strawberry lemonade flavored Sprite. It was a limited edition in the United States and Canada in May 2023. This was to celebrate 50 years of Hip Hop. |
| Absolut Vodka and Sprite | 2024 | A ready-to-drink canned cocktail made with vodka and Sprite. It was first released in the United Kingdom in February 2024. |
| Sprite Chill (Cherry Lime) | 2024–present | A cherry-lime flavored Sprite with special ingredients that make it feel "freezing" when you drink it. It was first a limited edition in the United States and Canada in May 2024 for the summer. It later became a regular flavor. |
See also
In Spanish: Sprite (refresco) para niños
