Historical Timeline of Bottled Soft Drinks

Coca Cola, Pepsi Cola, Sprite, 7 Up, Gatorade, Mug Root Beer, Mountain Dew, Passiona, Solo, and Bundaberg – these are some of the most popular soft drinks in Australia. Any Australian would be quick to say that they have at least had a sip of soft drink and loved it. Many Australians are big fans of soft drinks as almost in every meal, a bottle or can of their favorite soft drink is consumed. The refreshment a soft drink gives is a perfect for an Australian hot weather or summer season.

What we see now in the market new-age and state-of-the-art soft drinks. What we taste now are nowhere what soft drinks tasted like decades and centuries ago. Soft drinks have long history. These drinks are a product of years of innovation, imagination, and chemistry. About.com provides an in-depth timeline of soft drinks’ history.

·         1798 The term "soda water" first coined

·         1810 First U.S. patent issued for the manufacture of imitation mineral waters

·         1819 The "soda fountain" patented by Samuel Fahnestock

·         1835 The first bottled soda water in the U.S

·         1850 A manual hand & foot operated filling & corking device, first used for bottling soda water

·         1851 Ginger ale created in Ireland

·         1861 The term "pop" first coined

·         1874 The first ice-cream soda sold

·         1876 Root beer mass produced for public sale

·         1881 The first cola-flavored beverage introduced

·         1885 Charles Aderton invented "Dr Pepper" in Waco, Texas

·         1886 Dr. John S. Pemberton invented "Coca-Cola" in Atlanta, Georgia

·         1892 William Painter invented the crown bottle cap

·         1898 "Pepsi-Cola" is invented by Caleb Bradham

·         1899 The first patent issued for a glass blowing machine, used to produce glass bottle

·         1913 Gas motored trucks replaced horse drawn carriages as delivery vehicles

·         1919 The American Bottlers of Carbonated Beverages formed

·         1920 The U.S. Census reported that more than 5,000 bottlers now exist

·         Early 1920's The first automatic vending machines dispensed sodas into cups

·         1923 Six-pack soft drink cartons called "Hom-Paks" created

·         1929 The Howdy Company debuted its new drink "Bib-Label Lithiated Lemon-Lime Sodas" later called "7 Up". Invented by Charles Leiper Grigg

·         1934 Applied color labels first used on soft drink bottles, the coloring was baked on the face of the bottle

·         1952 The first diet soft drink sold called the "No-Cal Beverage" a gingerale sold by Kirsch

·         1957 The first aluminum cans used

·         1959 The first diet cola sold.

·         1962 The pull-ring tab first marketed by the Pittsburgh Brewing Company of Pittsburgh, PA. The pull-ring tab was invented by Alcoa

·         1963 The Schlitz Brewing company introduced the "Pop Top" beer can to the nation in March, invented by Ermal Fraze of Kettering, Ohio

·         1965 Soft drinks in cans dispensed from vending machines

·         1965 The resealable top invented

·         1966 The American Bottlers of Carbonated Beverages renamed The National Soft Drink Association.

·         1970 Plastic bottles are used for soft drinks

·         1973 The PET (Polyethylene Terephthalate) bottle created

This timeline continues to expand and to improve. Indeed, soft drinks continue to evolve and to innovate. More flavors and fizz are expected to happen since the technology is very much available. Since industries have perfected the use of blow moulding, creating various plastic containers. Blow moulding is just one of the important innovations in the soft drinks industry. Flavor makers, chemists, and beverage experts are stepping up to provide to consumers the best-tasting and most refreshing soft drinks, giving the industry an even brighter future ahead.