Fanta - Wikipedia

Brand of carbonated drinks This article is about the carbonated soft drink. For other uses, see Fanta (disambiguation). Fanta

A 20oz bottle of Orange Fanta
Manufacturer	The Coca-Cola Company
Origin	Germany (beverage)Italy (orange version)Algeria (strawberry version)Brazil (grape and guaraná version)Costa Rica (Colita version)Sri Lanka (Portello version)United Kingdom (fruit twist version) (also known as exotic in Scandinavian countries)
Introduced	1940; 86 years ago (1940)[1]
Variants	See International availability
Related products	Royal Tru, Sunkist, Crush, Slice, Hit, Mirinda, Tango, Bluna, Lilt.
Website	fanta.com

Fanta (/ˈfæntə/) is an American-owned brand of fruit-flavored carbonated soft drinks created by Coca-Cola Deutschland under the leadership of German businessman Max Keith. There are over 200 flavors worldwide.

Fanta originated in Germany as a Coca-Cola alternative in 1940 due to the American trade embargo of Nazi Germany which affected the availability of Coca-Cola ingredients. Fanta soon dominated the German market with three million cases sold in 1943. The current formulation of Fanta, with orange flavor, was developed in Italy in 1955.

History

[edit]

Wartime product

[edit]

During the Second World War, Germany was under a United States trade embargo and a British naval blockade; the import of Coca-Cola syrup was thus prohibited.[2][3] To circumvent this, Max Keith, the head of Coca-Cola Deutschland (Coca-Cola GmbH), decided to create a new product for the German market, using only ingredients available in Germany at the time, including sugar beet, whey, and apple pomace.

He later described them as the "leftovers of leftovers".[2][4] The name was the result of a brainstorming session, which started with Keith's exhorting his team to "use their imagination" (Fantasie in German), to which one of his salesmen, Joe Knipp, retorted "Fanta!".[4]

The German plant had been cut off from Coca-Cola headquarters following the US's entry into the war after the German declaration of war against the United States in 1941. After the war, the Coca-Cola Company regained control of the plant, formula, and the trademarks to the new Fanta product—as well as the plant profits made during the war.[2][4]

In 1943, 3 million cases of Fanta were sold in Germany. Many bottles were not consumed as a beverage but used as a cooking ingredient to add sweetness and flavor to soups and stews, as sugar was severely rationed.[2][4]

During the war, the Dutch Coca-Cola plant in Amsterdam (N.V. Nederlandse Coca-Cola Maatschappij) suffered the same difficulties as the German Coca-Cola plant. Keith put the Fanta brand at the disposal of the Dutch Coca-Cola plant, of which he had been appointed the official caretaker. Dutch Fanta had a different recipe from German Fanta, using elderberries as a main ingredient.[5]

Fanta production was discontinued in 1949. In 1955, in Naples, Italy, production of a new formulation with oranges began.[6]

Modern product

[edit]

Following the launch of several drinks by Pepsi-Cola in the 1950s, Società Napoletana Imbottigliamento Bevande Gassate (SNIBEG) relaunched Fanta in 1955 with a different formulation. In 1960 Coca-Cola bought the brand, distributing it worldwide. The drink was heavily marketed in Europe, Asia, Africa, and South America, although it did not become widely available in the United States until the 1960s because the company feared it would undermine the strong market position of their flagship cola.[7]

Even then, its availability was limited especially after the 1980s due to sister brand Minute Maid selling similar products under its own name. In 2001, Fanta received a national push due to the U.S.'s growing Hispanic population and the drink's proven popularity in Latin America.[8]

The modern-day orange Fanta was first produced in Naples, Italy in 1955 by a local bottling plant using locally sourced oranges.[9][10][11] The design of the classic annulated bottle comes from these years.[citation needed]

International availability

[edit]

The Orange flavour recipe outside the US contains orange juice,[12] while the American version does not.[13]

Europe

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In Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Poland, Romania, Serbia, Sweden, and some other European countries, there is Fanta Shokata (a wordplay on "soc" which means both "elderberry" and "shock" in Romanian) based on an elderflower blossom extract drink.[citation needed] In Russia, however, "Shokata" is the rebranding of Fanta Citrus, which is more like a common lemonade. This version of the drink is clear, like ordinary lemonade, while the bottle is blue.[14]

In early February 2023, The Coca Cola Company announced that Lilt (a pineapple and grapefruit soft drink sold in countries such as the UK and Ireland) would be rebranded as Fanta Pineapple and Grapefruit flavor on 14 February 2023.[15]

Latin America

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In Mexico, Fanta is made with sugar whereas the US version uses high fructose corn syrup. In the UK, the sugar content was reduced in 2017 to 4.6g per 100ml in the standard version (non-sugar free) to ensure that the product was below the 5g that would incur the country's sugary drink tax. This was a third lower than the recipe used before 2016, as some of the sugar was replaced by sweeteners.[16]

In Brazil, regional flavors such as guarana, passion fruit and cashew began to be sold between 2010 and 2020.[17]

South Africa

[edit]

In South Africa, Coca-Cola South Africa sells Fanta Orange, Fanta Orange No Sugar, Fanta Grape, and Fanta Pineapple.[18] Fanta Exotic and Fanta Lemon are also available at certain retailers.[19]

Philippines

[edit]

Coca-Cola Bottlers Philippines, Inc. (CCBPI) introduced Fanta in the early 1990’s. During its production in the Philippines, Fanta and Royal coexisted together in the market. Fanta was available in Fanta Calamansi (introduced in 1994 and the only Fanta flavor exclusive to the Philippine market), Fanta Lemon, Fanta Mango, Fanta Green Apple, Fanta Fruit Punch and Fanta Root Beer (coincidentally coexisted with Royal Root Beer) and is the sole market that didn’t introduce Fanta Orange in favor of Royal Tru-Orange. Royal, however, later introduced and reintroduced other flavors such as Royal Tru-Dalandan and Royal Tru-Strawberry during the coexistence of both brands. Fanta was eventually phased out in the 2000s and was absorbed by Royal as CCBPI’s local brand for Fanta.

Marketing

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A 2005 British television advertisement for Fanta Z, depicting people spitting out the drink, was the ninth most complained-about advert that year, according to the Advertising Standards Authority. 272 viewers complained that it encouraged copycat behaviour in children. The Authority therefore restricted the advert to post-9pm watershed viewing.[21]

75th anniversary version

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In February 2015, a 75th-anniversary version of Fanta was released in Germany. Packaged in glass bottles evoking the original design and with an authentic original wartime flavor including 30% whey and pomace, it is described on the packaging as "less sweet" and a German original.

An associated television ad referenced the history of the drink and said the Coca-Cola company wanted to bring back "the feeling of the Good Old Times" which was interpreted by many to mean Nazi rule. The ad was subsequently replaced.[22][3]

Logo history

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• 1962–1970
• 1997–2004
• 2010–2023; was still used in some countries after the 2016 rebranding.[citation needed]
• 2023–present

See also

[edit]

• Fanta cake
• Orange drink
• Orangina

References

[edit]

1. ^ Oord, Christian (February 6, 2019). "Was Fanta Really Invented in Germany?". warhistoryonline.com.
2. ^ a b c d Mikkelson, Barbara (April 29, 2011). "The Reich Stuff?". Snopes. Retrieved March 11, 2012.
3. ^ a b Snyder, Benjamin (March 3, 2015). "Coke pulls Fanta ad over Nazi controversy". Fortune. Retrieved March 9, 2015.
4. ^ a b c d Pendergrast, Mark (1993). For God, Country and Coca-Cola: The Unauthorized History of the Great American Soft Drink and the Company That Makes it. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons. ISBN 9780684193472.
5. ^ "Nederlandse oorlogs-Fanta | Peter Zwaal". peterzwaal.nl.
6. ^ Petit, Zachary. "Exclusive: Fanta's new logo ditches the fruit, just like its soda". Fast Company. Retrieved January 29, 2024.
7. ^ Palmer, Brian (August 2010). "Why do foreigners like Fanta so much?". Slate.
8. ^ "Remember Fanta? : Business World | the Journal Record". March 6, 2002.
9. ^ Haswell, Julia (May 23, 2017). "How Fanta was invented in Nazi Germany to quench people's thirst for Coke". www.thelocal.de. Retrieved March 17, 2019.
10. ^ "Sparkling drinks: Fanta - Sibeg". www.sibeg.it. Archived from the original on December 10, 2022. Retrieved March 17, 2019.
11. ^ "Fanta e arancia, un matrimonio all'italiana". The Coca-Cola Company (in Italian). Archived from the original on July 17, 2019. Retrieved March 17, 2019.
12. ^ "Fanta Orange". Retrieved July 31, 2018.
13. ^ "Fanta Orange - SmartLabel™". smartlabel.coca-colaproductfacts.com. Archived from the original on July 29, 2018. Retrieved July 31, 2018.
14. ^ "В России появился новый вкус Fanta Shokata Цитрус". Archived from the original on July 18, 2023. Retrieved March 31, 2022.
15. ^ "Lilt drink brand to be scrapped and renamed Fanta". www.bbc.co.uk. BBC News. February 13, 2023. Retrieved February 13, 2023.
16. ^ Gwynn, Simon (March 23, 2017). "Fanta changes recipe to swerve sugar tax as part of 'biggest shakeup in brand's history'". Campaign.
17. ^ "Coca lança refrigerante típico do Nordeste e estuda expandir a SP".
18. ^ "Coca-Cola South Africa - Fanta". Coca-Cola South Africa. Retrieved August 2, 2025.
19. ^ "Takealot - Fanta Result". Takealot. Retrieved August 2, 2025.
20. ^ "UM fanta shokata". Universal Media. Archived from the original on November 27, 2014. Retrieved September 13, 2012.
21. ^ Derbyshire, David (April 26, 2006). "KFC advert breaks complaints record". The Daily Telegraph: 11. Retrieved February 10, 2026.
22. ^ "Coca-Cola pulls German Fanta ad over Nazi controversy". AOL Money. March 5, 2015.

External links

[edit] Wikimedia Commons has media related to Fanta.

• Official website
• "Why Coca-Cola Invented Fanta In Nazi Germany". Business Insider. November 8, 2019. Archived from the original on December 21, 2021.
• "Coca Cola and the war". Digger History.
• "How Fanta was invented in Nazi Germany to quench people's thirst for Coke" Julius Haswell

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