Kool-Aid
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Product type | Drink mix, pouched beverage and liquid |
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Owner | Kraft Foods |
Country |
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Introduced | 1927 |
Markets | Worldwide[citation needed] |
Kool-Aid is a brand of flavored drink mix owned by Kraft Foods.
History
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/f2/Koolaidstart.jpg/250px-Koolaidstart.jpg)
Kool-Aid was invented by Edwin Perkins in Hastings, Nebraska. All of his experiments took place in his mother's kitchen.[1] Its predecessor was a liquid concentrate called Fruit Smack. To reduce shipping costs, in 1927, Perkins discovered a way to remove the liquid from Fruit Smack, leaving only a powder. This powder was named Kool-Aid. Perkins moved his production to Chicago in 1931 and Kool-Aid was sold to General Foods in 1953.[2] Hastings still celebrates a yearly summer festival called Kool-Aid Days on the second weekend in August, in honor of their city's claim to fame. Kool-Aid is known as Nebraska's official soft drink.[3][4]
An agreement between Kraft Foods and SodaStream International in 2012 made Kool-Aid's various flavors available for consumer purchases and use with SodaStream's home soda maker machine.[5]
Production
Kool-Aid is usually sold in powder form, in either packets or small tubs. The drink is prepared by mixing the powder with sugar and water (typically by the pitcher-full). The drink is usually served with ice or refrigerated and served chilled. Additionally, there are some sugar-free varieties. Kool-Aid is/was also sold as single-serving packets designed to be poured into bottled water, as small plastic bottles with pre-mixed drink, or as novelties (ice cream, fizzing tablets, etc.) Most consumers know Kool-Aid for its advertising character the Kool-Aid man.
The colors in kool-aid will stain, and can be used as a dye for hair[6] or wool dye.[7]
Advertising and promotion
Kool-Aid Man, an anthropomorphic pitcher filled with Kool-Aid, is the mascot of Kool-Aid. The character was introduced shortly after General Foods acquired the brand in the 1950s. In TV and print ads, Kool-Aid Man was known for randomly bursting through walls of children's homes and proceeding to make a batch of Kool-Aid for them. His catch phrase is "Hey Weinermobile" as indicated in the board game The Logo Game™
Starting in 2011, Kraft began allocating the majority of the Kool-Aid marketing budget towards Latinos. According to the brand, almost 20 percent of Kool-Aid drinkers are Hispanic, and slightly more than 20 percent are African-American.[8]
In 2013, Kraft decided to overhaul the Kool-Aid man, reimagining him as a CGI character trying to show that he's just an ordinary guy.[9]
Flavors
Original 6 flavors[10] | Cherry, Grape, Lemon-Lime, Orange, Raspberry, Strawberry[11] |
Singles flavors[12] | Black Cherry, Tropical Punch, Lemonade, Pink Lemonade, Cherry, Watermelon, Orange, Summer Punch |
Sugar-Free flavors[citation needed] | Cherry, Grape, Lemonade, Soarin' Strawberry Lemonade, Tropical Punch, Raspberry, Watermelon, KiwiLime |
Water flavors[13] | Jamaica, Mandarina-Tangerine, Mango, Tamarindo, Piña-Pineapple |
Other flavors worldwide or previously available[13] | Apple, Berry Blue, Bunch Berry, Blastin' Berry Cherry, Blue Berry Blast,Blue Moon Berry, Candy Apple, Cherry, Cherry Cracker, Chocolate, Cola, Eerie Orange, Frutas,Vermelhas, Golden Nectar, Grape, Grape Blackberry, Grape Tang, Melon Mango, Strawberry Splash, Great Blueberry, Great Blue-dini, Groselha, Guaraná, Ice Blue Raspberry Lemonade, Incrediberry, Kickin-Kiwi-Lime, Kolita, Lemon, Lemonade, Lemonade Sparkle, Lemon-Lime, Lime, Man-o-Mangoberry, Mango, Mountainberry Punch, Oh-Yeah Orange-Pineapple, Orange, Orange Enerjooz, Peach, Pina-Pineapple, Pink Lemonade, Pink Swimmingo, Purplesaurus Rex, Rainbow Punch, Raspberry, Roarin' Raspberry Cranberry, Rock-a-Dile Red, Root Beer, Scary Black Cherry, Scary Blackberry, Sharkleberry Fin, Slammin' Strawberry-Kiwi, Soarin' Strawberry-Lemonade, Strawberry, Strawberry Falls Punch, Strawberry Split, Strawberry-Raspberry, Sunshine Punch, Surfin' Berry Punch, Tangerine, Tropical Punch, Watermelon-Cherry, Shaking Starfruit, Watermelon, Solar Strawberry-Starfruit, Arctic Green Apple, Swirlin' Strawberry-Starfruit, Lemon Ice |
Other products
- Kool-Aid Twists drink mixes (discontinued, some flavors no longer have the "Twists" moniker on the package)
- Kool-Aid Ice Cream Bars
- Kool-Aid Singles drink mixes
- Kool-Aid Bursts
- Kool-Aid Jammers Capri Sun like juice pouches
- Kool-Aid Fun Fizz/Pop 'n Drop
- Kool-Pops Freezer Pops
- Kool-Aid Koolers juice boxes (discontinued)
- Kool-Aid Dippers
- Kool-Aid Drink Pitchers
- Kool-Aid Island Twists drink mixes (discontinued)
- Kool-Aid Mega Mountain Twists drink mixes (discontinued)
- Kool-Aid Fruit T's drink mixes (discontinued)
- Ghoul-Aid Halloween themed drink mixes (revived in 2012)
- Sugar Free Kool-Aid drink mixes
- Kool-Aid Magic Twists drink mixes (discontinued) the powder of the drink mix changed color
- Sharkleberry Fin Kool Pumps (discontinued) was a Burger King promotional item
- Kool-Aid Ice Cool drink mixes (discontinued) gave the drinker a cooling sensation
- Kool-Aid Invisible drink mixes turns the white drink mix powder clear
- Kool-Aid Blast Offs space themed drink mixes (discontinued)
In popular culture
- "Drinking the Kool-Aid" refers to the 1978 Jonestown Massacre; the phrase suggests that one has mindlessly adopted the dogma of a group or leader without fully understanding the ramifications or implications. At Jonestown, Jim Jones' followers followed him to the end: after visiting Congressman Leo Ryan was shot at the airstrip, all the Peoples Temple members drank from a metal vat containing a mixture of "Kool Aid", cyanide, and prescription drugs Valium, Phenergan, and chloral hydrate. Present-day descriptions of the event often refer to the beverage not as Kool-Aid but as Flavor Aid,[14] a less-expensive product reportedly found at the site.[15] Kraft Foods, the maker of Kool-Aid, has stated the same.[16][17] Implied by this accounting of events is that the reference to the Kool-Aid brand owes exclusively to its being better-known among Americans. Others are less categorical.[14] Both brands are known to have been among the commune's supplies: Film footage shot inside the compound prior to the events of November shows Jones opening a large chest in which boxes of both Flavor Aid and Kool-Aid are visible.[18] Criminal investigators testifying at the Jonestown inquest spoke of finding packets of "cool aid" (sic), and eyewitnesses to the incident are also recorded as speaking of "cool aid" or "Cool Aid."[19] However, it is unclear whether they intended to refer to the actual Kool-Aid–brand drink or were using the name in a generic sense that might refer to any powdered flavored beverage.
- In 1990 Victims Family release a song named Drink the Kool-Aid, referring to the above mentioned massacre
- In 1995 An American trio TLC released a single from their 1994 second album CrazySexyCool entitled "Diggin' on You" which contains the lyrics "I was chillin' with my Kool-Aid".
- In 2010 Ice Cube released a song named "Drink the Kool-Aid"
- In 1999 rap singer Eminem mentioned it in the lyrics of the radio edit of the song My Name Is, in the line "I just drank a fifth of Kool-Aid, dare me to drive?". (The original lyric is "I just drank a fifth of vodka")
- In the song Blow by Ke$ha there is a lyric referencing to Kool Aid as "Drink that Kool Aid, follow my lead"
- The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test is a work of literary journalism by Tom Wolfe depicting the life of Ken Kesey and the Merry Pranksters. The book's title is a reference to an acid test in Watts, California, where the Pranksters spiked a batch of Kool-Aid with the psychedelic drug LSD in the 1960s.[citation needed]
- Family Guy has often featured the Kool-Aid Man bursting through a wall and exclaiming "Oh, yeah!" This happens at inappropriate times, leaving the Kool-Aid Man embarrassed as he retreats back into the hole he made, e.g. towards the end of the courtroom scene in "Stewie Kills Lois" (Season 6, episode 4).[20]
- Deep-fried Kool-Aid balls were introduced at the 2011 San Diego County Fair.[21]
- Kool-Aid appears in The Son of Neptune
- In his 2012 album Election Special, Ry Cooder wrote a song named "Kool-Aid" which references the Jonestown massacre.
- In 2012, Natalia Kills released a promotional video entitled "Controversy" containing the lyrics "Drink the Kool-Aid, don't drink the Kool-Aid".
- In the Season 2 finale of the popular YouTube series Epic Rap Battles of History, Gorbachev (Epic LLoyd) refers to kicking down the Berlin Wall like the Kool-Aid Man in the line "Tear down that wall like the Kool-Aid Man, Oh Yeah!"
References
- ^ The History of Kool-Aid and Edwin Perkins.
- ^ "History of Kool-Aid". Hastings Museum of Culture and History. Retrieved 2008-05-16.
- ^ "Nebraska takes sweet turn, names Kool-Aid state drink". Deseret News. May 22, 1998.
- ^ Gustafson, Angela (August 9, 2011). "Nebraska's official soft drink celebrated at the 14th Annual Kool-Aid Days on Aug. 12-14". The Fence Post.
- ^ "Kraft and SodaStream in deal for Kool-Aid". The Chicago Tribune. Reuters. July 18, 2012. Retrieved July 30, 2012.
- ^ Matt Molstad; et al. "How to dip dye your hair with kool-aid". Wiki how. Wiki How. Retrieved 30 October 2014.
{{cite web}}
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(help) - ^ Porter, Kristi. "Dyed in the wool". knitty.
- ^ Newman, Andrew Adam (May 27, 2011). "ADVERTISING; Kraft Aims Kool-Aid Ads at a Growing Hispanic Market". The New York Times. Retrieved May 27, 2011.
- ^ "New Kool-Aid Man: Oh Yeah! What Does The New Kool-Aid Man Look Like? [VIDEO]last=Van Hoven". IBT Media, Inc. April 15, 2013. Retrieved April 15, 2013.
{{cite news}}
:|first=
missing|last=
(help) - ^ Kool-Aid Days
- ^ "The History of Kool-Aid". Hastings Museum of Natural & Cultural History. 2008. Retrieved 2009-04-03.
- ^ "Kool-Aid Powdered".
- ^ a b Shaw, Scott (October 8, 2006). "Kool-Aid Komics". Oddball Comics. Retrieved 2008-11-17.
- ^ a b Eric Zorn (2008-11-18). "Change of Subject, "Have you drunk the 'Kool Aid' Kool Aid". Chicago Tribune, www.chicagotribune.com. Retrieved 2009-08-27.
- ^ Krause, Charles A. (December 17, 1978). "Jonestown Is an Eerie Ghost Town Now". Washington Post.
- ^ Martin Khin (2007-12-19). "Don't Drink the Grape-Flavored Sugar Water..." Fast Company, www.fastcompany.com. Retrieved 2009-08-27.
- ^ Al Thomkins (2003-11-13). "Al's Morning Meeting, "Thursday Edition: Clearing Kool-Aid's Name"". The Poynter Institute, www.poynter.org. Retrieved 2009-08-27.
- ^ Jonestown: The Life and Death of Peoples Temple
- ^ "Guyana inquest" (PDF).
- ^ "S06E04 Stewie Kills Lois".
- ^ "Deep Fried Kool-Aid Balls: The Newest In Fair Fare", Huffington Post, posted 2011-06-20, revised 2011-08-20, retrieved 2012-06-18.
External links
- Official website
- History of Kool-Aid from a museum in Hastings, Nebraska