AriZona Beverages USA (often labeled AriZona) is a producer of various flavors of iced tea, juice cocktails and energy drinks from the United States, based in Woodbury, New York.[1]
Arizona's Arnold Palmer blend of iced tea and lemonade has been commercially available since the 1990s. Arizona is known for its product line of "tall boy" drinks of 23 fl. oz. iced teas and other beverages that retail for around US$1.00. Arizona came out with its first product, "Arizona Green Tea", in 1992. Almost all of Arizona's products are sweetened with high fructose corn syrup, with "light" and "diet" varieties sweetened with Splenda-brand sucralose ("light" teas are half-corn syrup and half-sucralose, while diet drinks are solely sweetened with sucralose). The Black and White variety is sweetened with sugar.
In 1995, Arizona released a line of soda pop drinks under the brand Cowboy Pop.[2]
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half tea half lemonade
Arizona's range of products in the United Kingdom is simpler, with only the bottled green tea varieties being available from such retailers as Holland & Barrett.
Arizona sells their 695 ml (23.5 oz) canned products in Canada for $.99 CAD. The same products in 473 ml (16 oz) bottles are sold at a premium, roughly 2-3 times the canned price. Arizona Iced tea cans were briefly recalled in Canada in 2007 due to a can defect, before being re-introduced at the $.99 CAD price. They sell a variety of iced tea and juice drinks. Like the drinks sold in the United States, the Canadian varieties contain high fructose corn syrup, but under the name glucose/fructose, or sugar/glucose-fructose. Arizona is very popular among high school and university students, as well as young adults.
In Germany six different iced teas in 500 ml bottles are sold and two of them also in 568 ml cans. The beverages are produced by Krings Fruchtsaft GmbH who hold the rights for Germany.
After the passage of Arizona SB1070, a controversial anti-illegal immigration measure, many businesses associated with the state of Arizona faced protests and boycotts. A tongue-in-cheek post to Twitter calling Arizona Iced Tea "the drink of Fascists" fueled reports of a boycott of Arizona-brand beverages.[3][4][5] In reaction to this, the company posted to its Twitter account that "Arizona is and always has been a NY based company! "[6]
The magazine Men's Health put two of Arizona's products among 20 "worst drinks of America", citing their high sugar contents.[7]