Sprite (drink) facts for kids

Kids Encyclopedia Facts

Quick facts for kids
Sprite

A 600ml plastic bottle of Sprite
Type	Lemon-lime
Manufacturer	The Coca-Cola Company
Country of origin	Germany (drink) United States (branding)
Introduced	1961; 64 years ago (1961)
Color	Colorless
Variants	See flavors below
Related products	7 Up, Starry, Mitsuya Cider

Sprite is a clear, lemon-lime flavored soft drink. It was created by the Coca-Cola Company. Sprite comes in many flavors. These include cranberry, cherry, grape, orange, tropical, ginger, and vanilla. Some newer versions of Sprite are made with sweeteners instead of sugar. Sprite was made to be a rival to another popular drink, 7-Up.

How Sprite Started
Sprite's Advertising History
- Changes to Sprite's Recipe
Explore Sprite Flavors
Images for kids
See Also

How Sprite Started

The name "Sprite" was first used around 1955. It was created by T. C. "Bud" Evans, a bottler from Houston. He used the name for other flavored drinks like strawberry and orange. In 1960, the Coca-Cola Company bought the rights to the name.

The lemon-lime drink we know as Sprite today began 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. It was named Sprite there to compete with 7 Up.

Sprite's Advertising History

Former logo

Sprite ads often use the word "lymon." This word combines "lemon" and "lime." Also, Sprite bottles have special dents. These dents are meant to look like the bubbles in the soda.

By the 1980s, many teenagers loved Sprite. So, Sprite started making ads just for them in 1987. Their first long-running slogan was "I Like the Sprite In You." Many songs were made for this slogan until 1994.

The evolution of Sprite bottles

In 1993, a new slogan was created: "Control your thirst." The new Sprite logo was brighter. It had a blue-to-green color that faded, with silver splashes and white bubbles. The word "Sprite" had a blue shadow behind it. The old words "Great Lymon Taste!" were removed. This logo was used in the United States until 2006. Other countries used similar logos around that time too.

The brand's slogan then changed to "Obey Your Thirst." The songs for this slogan had a hip-hop style. One of the first lyrics was, "never forget yourself 'cause first things first, grab a cold, cold can, and obey your thirst." With this new slogan, Sprite worked with many famous hip-hop artists. These included LL Cool J, A Tribe Called Quest, KRS-One, Missy Elliott, Grand Puba, Common, Fat Joe, and Nas.

Sprite also connected with basketball in the late 1990s. They showed both new and well-known basketball players in their ads. Famous NBA players like LeBron James and Trae Young appeared in Sprite ads. Hip-hop artists like Vince Staples and Lil Yachty also joined in.

In 1998, one ad made fun of products with cartoon mascots. It was like a horror movie. A mascot for a fake orange juice drink called "Sun Fizz" came to life. It scared the children and their mother and chased them.

In the 1990s, a long-running ad campaign was "Grant Hill Drinks Sprite." This campaign was part of the "Obey Your Thirst" ads. It humorously showed how good basketball player Grant Hill was. It also suggested that Sprite helped him with his skills.

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 a vinyl doll named Miles Thirst. The doll was 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. It had two yellow and green parts that formed an "S" shape, like a lemon and lime. The slogan in the United States changed from "Obey Your Thirst" to just "Obey." In many other countries, it changed to "Freedom From Thirst." This was the first big change in their advertising for that decade.

Chinese bottle of Sprite

The "Sublymonal" ad campaign was also part of an alternate reality 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 July 2022, the Coca-Cola Company announced a big change. Sprite would stop using green plastic bottles on August 1. They would switch to clear plastic bottles. The green plastic has an additive that makes it harder to recycle into new bottles.

In 2022, Australia released new lemon-flavored Sprite drinks. These were called Sprite Lemon+ and Sprite Lemon+ Zero Sugar.

Changes to Sprite's Recipe

In France, in 2012, Sprite's recipe was changed. They removed 30% of the sugar. They replaced it with 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 sugary drinks tax in the country. 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. Sprite Zero was renamed simply "Sprite." This change also came to Ireland in 2018.

In Australia, Sprite was relaunched in August 2019. The new recipe had 40% less sugar than the old one. Unlike most changes, 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 types more different. The new recipe has a little more sugar but still uses Aspartame and Acesulfame K.

Explore Sprite Flavors

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 some countries, it was known as "Sprite Light." In 2004, it was rebranded as "Diet Sprite Zero" in the US and "Sprite Zero" in many other places. The "Diet" part was dropped in 2006, making it just "Sprite Zero." In 2019, it was renamed "Sprite Zero Sugar."
Sprite Lemon-Lime Herb	1970s	Sprite with a herb taste. It was only sold in Germany.
Chinotto	1990s (purchase by Coca-Cola)	This is what Sprite is called in Venezuela. It was originally a separate drink. Coca-Cola bought the company that made it. Then they changed its look to match Sprite.
Recharge by Sprite	Early 2000s	A Sprite Energy Drink. It was sold in Australia until 2006. This drink was turquoise, unlike regular clear Sprite.
Sprite Ice	2002	Sprite with a cool, minty taste. It was first called "Sprite Blue" in Korea in 2002. It has been sold under different names like "Sprite Ice" in Canada, "Sprite Ice Cube" in Belgium, 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. It was 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	A Sprite energy drink. It was first launched in the United Kingdom in 2005. It contained ingredients like glucose and caffeine. It was stopped in the UK in 2007.
Sprite Duo	2007	A version with less fizz and more lemon juice. It was only released in Spain in 2007.
Sprite Green	2009	A version sweetened with Truvia. This is a natural sweetener from stevia. It was not very popular and was stopped soon after it came out.
Sprite (Stevia Formula)	2012	In France in 2012, Sprite's recipe changed. It had 30% less sugar and used Stevia. This spread to Ireland, the UK, and the Netherlands in 2013.
Sprite Winter Spiced Cranberry	2013	Sprite with cranberry and spices. It has been sold every holiday season since 2013. An ad for this drink with LeBron James became very popular online.
Sprite 6 Mix	2014	Sprite with extra 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 the Summer of 2014 in the United States. It was only sold at 7-Eleven stores in small cans. It was also released in New Zealand in 2017.
Sprite Tropical	2015	A re-release of Sprite Remix Tropical. It was sold for a short time in 2015. It was sold again as "Sprite Tropical Mix" in 2016.
Sprite Cucumber	2017	Sprite with a cucumber flavor. It launched in 2017 in Russia and in June 2018 in Romania.
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 is similar to Sprite Tropical Mix. It is mostly sold at McDonald's soda fountains.
Sprite Lymonade	2019	Sprite mixed with lemonade and a little lemon juice.
Sprite 40% Less Sugar	2019	Sprite relaunched in Australia with a new recipe. It has 40% less sugar than the old Sprite. It uses Ace K and Sucralose instead of Aspartame.
Sprite Ginger	2020	Sprite with an added taste of ginger. This flavor goes well with the classic lemon-lime taste.
Sprite Lemon+	2022	A lighter and tangier Sprite with caffeine. It is sold in Australia.
Sprite Lymonade Legacy	2023	A strawberry-lemonade flavored Sprite. It was sold for a limited time in the United States and Canada in May 2023. This was to celebrate 50 years of Hip-Hop music.
Sprite Chill	2024	A cherry-lime flavored Sprite. It has special ingredients that make the drink feel "freezing" cold. It was sold for a limited time in the United States and Canada in May 2024 for the summer.