Clearly Canadian
 | |
| Type | Sparkling Water |
|---|---|
| Manufacturer | The Clearly Food & Beverage Company, Ltd. |
| Country of origin | Canada |
| Introduced | December 1987 |
| Color | Clear |
| Flavor | Sparkling Flavoured & Non-Flavoured |
| Variants |
|
| Related products |
Clearly Canadian O2 Clearly Tea Clearly 2 Orbitz |
| Website |
www |
Clearly Canadian is a North American multi-SKU premium beverage brand, produced by The Clearly Food & Beverage Company of Canada. The brand was founded in 1987 in British Columbia, Canada and is well known throughout North America, Scandinavia, parts of Europe and Japan and was extremely popular in the 1980s and 1990s.
History
Founded in 1987 by Doug Mason in British Columbia, Canada the brand is considered by many as the first premium "new age beverage" product that precipitated the multi-billion dollar market as it exists today, and has produced product every year since 1987 except for 2010 and 2011.
Clearly Canadian experienced broad corporate mismanagement during much of the last decade that led to it being acquired by an American-led turnaround team in 2012. Large-scale commercial production is resuming again in Canada after a number of limited short production runs during the 2012 to 2014 period. The company's turnaround was precipitated by a online consumer promoted crowd-sourcing campaign that pre-sold in excess of 25,000 cases.
Acquisitions
The firm has owned at one time or another My Organic Baby, DMR Food Corporation; and Cascade Clear Water Co.
Timeline
- 1987: Clearly Canadian flavoured sparkling water is introduced.
- 1993: Annual sales hit $155 million.
- 1993: Royalty agreement with Camfrey Resources is terminated for $22.9 million.
- 1994: Clearly Tea and Clearly Two beverages are test-marketed.
- 1996: Hostile acquisition pursuit of Sun-Rype Products Ltd. initiated.
- 1996: Orbitz, with free-floating gel spheres, is introduced.
- 1997: Cascade Clear Water Co. is acquired.
- 1998: Clearly Canadian O+2, Battery, and Refresher drinks are introduced.
- 2000: Packaging of flagship line is redesigned and diet flavours are added.
- 2001: Founding Management exits.
- 2005: Recapitalization brings about new ownership and management.
- 2006: Company founder resigns as chairman.
- 2007: DMR Food Corporation is acquired.[1]
- 2007: My Organic Baby is acquired.
- 2008: Clearly Canadian stars in reality TV series "Bobby G: Adventure Capitalist" on MOJO.
- 2010: Successful creditor reorganization.
- 2013: Fan-sourced (crowd-sourcing) direct-to-consumer pre-sales campaign.
- 2015: Pre-sale campaign reached its goal of 25,000 cases pre-sold, pushing the product back into production. .
Brands, products & flavours
Clearly Canadian has released many product SKUs and formats over the years, including the following flavoured sparkling waters:
- Wild Cherry
- Green Apple
- Peach Mango
- Orchard Peach[2]
- Mountain Blackberry
- Coastal Cranberry
- Summer Strawberry
- Country Raspberry
- Western Loganberry
- Tropical Tangerine
- Alpine Fruit & Berries
Additionally, the brand has released the following products:
- Clearly Tea
- Clearly Sparkling Tea
- Clearly Canadian Sparkling Water (non-flavoured)
- DailyHydration
- DailyEnergy
- DailyVitamin
- DailyBeauty *(never released)
- Clearly O+2
- Clearly H2O
- Tre Limone
- Orbitz
Bottle history
Clearly Canadian has been released in a number of packaging formats, principally in glass and PET bottles, that have always highlighted their distinctive flavours with vibrant colours and graphics. The brand's first generation signature "tear drop" glass bottle, shown to the right and for which the brand is famous, is an 11-oz (325-ml) light blue conical bottle. This bottle has come in two styles, one embossed with the name Clearly Canadian on it, the other not. The brand's second generation glass bottle was a 14-oz (414-ml) cylindrical bottle, which has been discontinued. In PET plastic, the brand has been available from time-to-time in standard 16 oz. (448ml) formats.
Beverage ingredients
The beverages have used a number of different ingredients and formulas over the years. Its flagship sparkling flavoured water line uses natural Canadian spring water and natural flavorings. Depending on formulation, the drinks have been sweetened with raw cane sugar, high-fructose corn syrup, sucrose and others.
In popular culture
Throughout the 1990s Clearly Canadian was featured in numerous mainstream television shows and films, including Sex in the City, Seinfeld, Friends, Dawson's Creek, Weekend at Bernie's and more.
In 2014, the popular YouTube channel, Good Mythical Morning, challenged its audience in supporting the Clearly Canadian pre-sales campaign within their "6 Snacks That Should Be Brought Back" episode of their sixth season.[3]
See also
References
- ↑ "DMR Food Corporation Acquired by Clearly Canadian". Food Ingredients 1st. February 9, 2007. Retrieved December 22, 2013.
- ↑ "Clearly Canadian Sparkling Waters". Beveragesdirect.com. Retrieved 2013-12-22.
- ↑ "6 Snacks That Should Be Brought Back". Good Mythical Morning. Season 6. Episode 579. 26 November 2014. Event occurs at 6:26. Mythical Entertainment. Retrieved 8 December 2015.