Fresca

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Fresca

Type	Citrus soft drink
Manufacturer	The Coca-Cola Company
Country of Origin	USA
Introduced	1963
Discontinued	N/A
Related products	Fanta

Fresca is a brand of citrus soft drink made by The Coca-Cola Company. First introduced in the United States in 1963, the drink is now sold throughout the world, although not widely available outside of North America. It is, as well, a distinct rarity in Coke products, in that it does not have a Pepsi equivalent.

Since its inception, Fresca has been marketed in the United States as a calorie-free, grapefruit-flavored soft drink, ostensibly catering to discriminating adult tastes. Fresca underwent its major ingredient change in 1985, when its non-caloric sweetener saccharin was replaced by aspartame.

Historian Doris Kearns Goodwin wrote that Fresca was the favorite drink of U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson, who had a button installed on the desk in the White House's Oval Office which would summon his military aide to bring the drink. In addition, Fresca was the favorite drink to the expansion teams in the NHL during the 1967 season; therefore, Fresca was originally slated to be the sponsor to the NHL the following year. Although, due to the NHL commisioners the sponshorhsip was disallowed. Thus, it never broke through to the main stream.

In Latin America, Coca-Cola markets an entirely different soft drink under the Fresca brand name. This drink is grapefruit-flavored, but contains sugar. It is similar to the Squirt soft drink marketed in the United States by Dr. Pepper & Seven-Up, Inc. In 1997 Coca-Cola launched the soft drink throughout the U.S. as Citra. However this was not successful as a separate product line, and that drink is now sold as the Citrus flavor in the Fanta line. The name may have been confusing for Latin American consumers, as "agua fresca".

For years, Fresca maintained somewhat of a cult following, similar to Tab, consisting of people who had grown up with the drink, yet it didn't obtain major market appeal. Around the turn of the century (2000), however, Fresca grew in popularity somewhat organically, enough so that it was sufficiently popular for Coca-Cola to take notice.

In 2005, Coca-Cola gave Fresca a more contemporary look, Fresca's first makeover since 1996. Fresca advertising continues to emphasize sophistication.

During this redesign, two new flavors were introduced (Sparkling Peach Citrus Fresca and Sparkling Black Cherry Fresca) and the original grapefruit flavor was renamed Sparkling Citrus.

2005 Fresca Sparkling Black Cherry Citrus Flavor Soda in 20oz PET Bottles (USA)

[edit] Flavors of Fresca

Apple
Cherry
Iced Tea
Cola
Fruit Punch
Grapefruit (the original)
Lemon Lime
Orange
Peach
Pear
Sparkling Black Cherry (new with product redesign in 2005)
Sparkling Peach Citrus (new with product redesign in 2005)
Sparkling Citrus (new name for original grapefruit flavor with product redesign in 2005)
Strawberry
Cherry Citrus
Lime Citrus