Arizona Beverage Company

Arizona Beverage Company, Ltd.
Private
Industry Beverage
Founded 1971 (as Ferolito, Vultaggio & Sons)
1992 (as AriZona)
Founder John Ferolito and Don Vultaggio
Headquarters Woodbury, New York, United States
Area served
 Worldwide
Key people
 Domenick J. "Don" Vultaggio (Chairman)
John M. Ferolito (President)
Products Teas and juice drinks
Revenue $300 million (1997 est.)[1]
Number of employees
 250[1]
Parent Hornell Brewing Co., Inc. (D/B/A Ferolito, Vultaggio & Sons)
Website www.drinkarizona.com
AriZona Beverage Company's corporate headquarters in Woodbury, New York

Arizona Beverages USA (often labeled AriZona) is an American producer of many flavors of iced tea, juice cocktails and energy drinks based in Woodbury, New York.[2] Arizona's first product, "Arizona Green Tea", was first made available 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. Arizona is known for its product line of "tall boy" drinks of 23 fl. oz. iced teas and other beverages that retail for around one dollar.

The "Arnold Palmer blend" of iced tea and lemonade has been commercially available since the 1990s. In 1995, Arizona released a line of soda under the brand Cowboy Pop.[3] They also released a line of tortilla chip products, consisting of "Nachos 'n' Cheese Dip" and "Salsa 'n' Chips".[4]

History

The company roots trace back to 1971 when friends John Ferolito and Don Vultaggio opened a beverage distribution business in Brooklyn, New York. The company was a successful beer distributor. In 1990, they saw the success of Snapple (also a Brooklyn-based company founded in the 1970s) bottled juices and teas, and decided to try to make their own product. In 1992 they produced the first bottles of their own AriZona teas.[5] According to the official company website, the company's name has no relation to the state of Arizona. The name was chosen at random, with "Santa Fe", "Lincoln, Nebraska", and "Kalamazoo" originally being considered.[2] It was close to having been named "Nebraska Tea" but the two had a conflict and decided to go with Arizona Tea.

Products

Hot Tea

Tea Mix

Tea and Juice

Juice

Energy Drink

Sports Drink

Water

Soda

Arizona in the United Kingdom

In The United Kingdom, five different flavours of green teas in 500ml bottles are sold. The beverages are distributed by American Drinks Ltd.

Arizona in Canada

Arizona sells their 695 ml (23 fl.oz.) canned products in Canada for $.99 or 1.30 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. As of approximately December 20th, 2014 the 695 ml (23 fl.oz.) canned Arizona beverages will be unavailable until late January / Early February 2015 because the company sought to find a Canadian distributor, no longer using Coke for distribution.

Arizona in Sweden

In Sweden, seven different flavours of Arizona Iced Tea and Green Tea are sold. They are available in 500ml cans, and 473ml bottles. The beverages are distributed by Grays American Stores AB.

Arizona in Turkey

In Turkey, seven different flavours of Arizona Iced Tea in 500ml Pet bottles, 473ml Glass Bottles and 355ml Slim Cans are available. The beverages are distributed by www.arizonaicedteaturkiye.com / Dmc Group Turkey.

Arizona immigration law

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.[6][7][8] In reaction to this, the company posted to its Twitter account that "Arizona is and always has been a NY based company! "[9]

Criticism

The magazine Men's Health put two of Arizona's products, "Arizona Kiwi Strawberry" and "Arizona Rx Energy", on a list of the 20 unhealthiest drinks of America, citing their high sugar and calorie contents.[10]

References

External links