Vintage, Kist Beverages, Red ACL, 7oz Soda Bottle, Old Faithful Beverage Company

Description: Vintage, Kist Beverages, Red ACL, 7oz Soda Bottle, Old Faithful Beverage Company ---- Reference Data: Citrus Products Co., 11 E. Hubbard St., Chicago, IL [Downtown / The Loop] Notable Factoid: In 1933, the vice president of Citrus Products fired a gun at his own wife (and missed) after he saw her kissing the president of the company at a party. Kist beverage bottleBest known for its “Kist” brand of carbonated beverages, Chicago’s Citrus Products Company was in operation from 1919 to 1965, concocting the fruit flavorings for a vast network of independent distributors to mix in, bottle up, and ship out. The business—which also produced the obscure chocolate-milkish drinks “Brownie” and “Chocolate Soldier”—was ultimately purchased and absorbed by Atlanta’s Monarch Food Packers Inc., which then sold all its rights over to the Texas-based Leading Edge Brands in 1997. By 2009, the greatly diminished line of Kist Beverages had come under the ownership of Detroit’s Intrastate Distributors, Inc., and as far as we can tell, the brand is now (unofficially) extinct after a century in circulation. In terms of its place in the illustrious history of American fruit sodas, the original “Orange Kist” followed hot on the heels of another famous Chicago contribution, “Orange Crush,” which was developed in 1916 and sold by the aptly named Orange-Crush Company (314 W. Superior Street). In fact, Kist basically aped everything Crush was doing, even stealing away their head of advertising in 1922 as the Prohibition cola wars heated up. Meanwhile, despite appearances, Kist never had any direct affiliation with today’s #1 selling orange pop brand—Sunkist—which didn’t arrive on shelves until 1979. There is certainly a loose thread connecting the two, however, as California’s Fruit Growers Supply Co-Operative was using the “Sunkist” trademark to promote its produce as early as 1909, thus likely inspiring our friends at the Citrus Products Company to co-opt and abbreviate the concept a decade later for their new fruit-flavored soft drinks. The vintage Kist bottle likely dates from the 1950s (the stamp on the bottom suggests ’58), and has a classic Art Deco style to match. Even during the war years, crates of Kist were moving through franchised bottling plants in every state, as well as (pre-statehood) Hawaii, where sailors at Pearl Harbor could get their supply re-stocked by the Honolulu Sodawater Co., Ltd. One bottle would set you back a nickel. Back in Chicago, the Citrus Products Company of the 1940s was putting a lot of its resources into laboratory research. The plant at 11 E. Hubbard Street had a team of chemists working on new “flavoring extracts and concentrates for carbonated beverages and ice cream; the testing of various gums used in emulsions; the development of new combinations of flavors, and the testing of inhibitors” (Industrial Research Laboratories of the United States, 7th ed., 1940). The company president at the time, Albert C. King, wasn’t involved in any of that work; he had already half-retired to Pasadena, California. The story of how King ascended to his position, however, is the stuff of scandalous tabloid legend. And it all started, ironically enough, with a Kist. Or, rather, a kiss. The business was organized in 1919 with $100,000 in capital stock, and its first office was located at 350 N. Clark Street. It’s not entirely clear who was the true founder or driving force at the beginning, but the supposed inventor and licensor of the “Orange Kist” concentrate—the company’s first key product—was Arthur E. Fest, a salesman who would go on to a long career as a candy industry executive with numerous firms. The Orange Kist trademark, meanwhile, was officially licensed to the Citrus Products Co. by a wholly different person, Margaret B. McCarthy, in 1922. That same year, with the business now based at 54 E. Kinzie Street, the two most important ambassadors of the Kist brand joined the fold, with sales specialist C. H. Davies signing on as secretary and Eric G. Scudder—a 35 year-old advertising man poached from the Orange Crush team—taking over the presidency (replacing Daniel G. Moore). Boosted by additional financial backing from local cheese producer James L. Kraft (yes, that Kraft), Scudder quickly consolidated the brand identity of Citrus Products’ two divisions—soda and ice cream—under the single banner of KIST. This spelled the end for the company’s short lived “Ella” line of ice creams, as Lemonella, Orangella, Cherryella, Grapella, and Limella all just became the frozen flavors of KIST. ---- Surfaces show markings and shelf wear. See photos.Shows age, wear and soil and I chose to leave the cleaning to a professional collector rather than damage any of the item. I usually ship on the same day or within 24 hours Monday through Saturday. I am a U.S. based seller and getting the item to you FAST is a priority to me. Happy to provide exact measurements, answer questions or send additional photos if requested. I do not use stock photos, See pictures for the actual item(s). Thanks!Returns are accepted in the original condition the item was sent in for 14 days after purchase.

Price: 24.87 USD

Location: Ogden, Utah

End Time: 2025-01-14T21:52:35.000Z

Shipping Cost: 0 USD