Arizona Beverage Company
 | This article needs additional citations for verification. (April 2022) |
 | |
 Headquarters in Woodbury, New York | |
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Beverage |
| Founded |
|
| Founder | Don Vultaggio John Ferolito |
| Headquarters | , U.S. |
Area served | Worldwide, mainly in the United States, Canada and Mexico |
Key people | Don Vultaggio (Chairman & President) Rob Marciano (Executive Vice President of Global Sales and Marketing) David Menashi (CEO) |
| Products | Teas and juice drinks |
| Revenue | $3 billion (2017)[1] |
Number of employees | 10,000+[1] |
| Parent | Hornell Brewing Co., Inc. (D/B/A Vultaggio & Sons) |
| Website | www |
Arizona Beverages USA (stylized as 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 was made available in 1992, to compete with Snapple. Both companies originated in New York.
Arizona is known for its "Big Can" drinks holding 23 fl. oz. (680 ml) of iced teas, juice drinks and other beverages that retail for around the price of US$0.99 in the United States and C$1.29 in Canada. Their beverages also come in 16 oz, 11.5 oz, as well as a 128 oz (gallon) of AriZona.
The "Arnold Palmer blend" of iced tea and lemonade has been commercially available since the 1990s, though Arizona has since risen to become the most popular primary distributor of the beverage, with over $100 million in sales in 2010.[3]
Arizona also distributes packed trays of tortilla chip products, consisting of "Nachos 'n' Cheese" and "Salsa 'n' Chips".[4] In 2020, the company introduced a line of fruit snacks in mixed fruit, Arnold Palmer, and green tea varieties.[5]
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 attempted to make their product.
In 1992, they produced the first bottles of their own AriZona teas.[6] Vultaggio said the name was originally Santa Fe, in response to the adobe-style house he lived in, but he felt it didn't look right on the packaging. He went with Arizona even though he had never been to the state and, in fact, hadn't even traveled west of the Mississippi River.[7]
The price has remained at $0.99 even with rising costs for the company.[8]
References
- ^ a b "Vultaggio & Sons History", FundingUniverse.com, a Lendio company
- ^ "AriZona Beverages - AriZona Beverages - America's No. 1 Selling Iced Tea Brand". AriZona Beverages - America’s No. 1 Selling Iced Tea Brand. Retrieved 14 August 2015.
- ^ Rovell, Darren (13 May 2010). "Arnold Palmer Finally Making Big Money Off His Drink". CNBC. Retrieved 13 April 2017.
- ^ "AriZona Beverages - AriZona Beverages - America's No. 1 Selling Iced Tea Brand". AriZona Beverages - America’s No. 1 Selling Iced Tea Brand. Archived from the original on 1 February 2014. Retrieved 14 August 2015.
- ^ "AriZona Beverages introduces two new fruit snack mixes | 2020-12-14 | Candy Industry". www.candyindustry.com. Retrieved 1 August 2022.
- ^ "AriZona History" Archived July 6, 2012, at the Wayback Machine, AriZona website
- ^ Jordan Valinsky. "The surprising backstory of AriZona Iced Tea's name". CNN. Retrieved 2022-08-28.
- ^ "AriZona iced tea is still 99 cents. In this economy, how is that possible?". WAVY.com. 2022-08-28. Retrieved 2022-08-28.
