The Big Snapple Announces Redesign, Drops Corn Syrup

Snapple, the iced tea company that 6 years ago made a $166 million deal with NYC for exclusive distribution to public schools and city-owned building vending machines, along with an “official beverage of New York City” label, is changing: redesigned bottles (label and all) will hit stores early next month. More importantly, it was announced yesterday, corn syrup will disappear from Snapple’s list of ingredients, and will presumably no longer be welcome on the Snapple campus. The drink will henceforth be sweetened with sugar. It’s not immediately clear whether or not Snapple will retain a monopoly over borough vending machines; the company’s product placement deal with the city apparently has gone the way of a “reject if button is up” clause. “Some city agencies refused to accept Snapple vending machines,” the Times recapped in 2006, but not wholly for anti-consumerist reasons. “In other places, machines could not fit in narrow or short corridors, or could not be plugged in because there was no electrical outlet nearby.”

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By Hugh Merwin in Food on February 20, 2009 1:30 PM

Comments [rss]

bowelmovment_man

Does this mean that the fat Snapple broad loses a few tons?

Shinobi Shaw

San Pellegrino's Limonata is also good (or Orangina) as well.

There are plenty of alternatives out there.

snickerdoodle

I don't care what they put in it I'm still not drinking that gross sludge they try to pass off as "tea".

S.D.

Snapple will never out do the Giant Popsicle Debacle...

Felix Hoenikker

Is it passover already?

fugothamist

drink Boylan's instead of Coke/Pepsi

no HFCS and it tastes great

Jon Claw

...or Jones.

babyhitler

I thought corny syrup and fructose was sugar? can someone explain?

Spirit of 76

A basic chemistry lesson: Fructose is a type of sugar found in fruit. Sucrose (table sugar) is a more complex compound that includes fructose molecules and is normally manufactured from sugar beets and cane.

The distinction should be made that there's regular corn syrup, which has very little fructose, and high fructose corn syrup. Too much fructose is terrible for you. Humans were not evolved to digest the amount of fructose that they get in soft drinks every day. Fructose can help age you prematurely because it accelerates one of the main mechanisms of aging, something called glycation or "caramelization" to the layman.

robingee

Yeah that's what I meant to say.

robingee

Corn syrup was made by the Jews, and fructose is made by the blacks.

BackStJoe

Bring back Tru-Root Beer! Yummy...

Shinobi Shaw

I am very happy that they are going back to real sugar, It's shocking too how many food products have High fructose corn syrup. Not just beverage, but bread, canned goods etc. It's utterly ridiculous.

I am happy with this decision.

jackdonaghy

It's a start, but we still need the other 85% of beverages need to stop using the corn sludge. Of course, the other companies like Coke and Pepsi have little incentive since the US' subsizidation of the corn industry makes it so cheap to use as an ingredient.

fugothamist

i am very happy to be here!

JacqueMehoff

bring back the clear snapples.

tru root beer and cherry lime rickeys.

JenChungsBaby

Lime Rickey was the best. I miss that.

JacqueMehoff

that root beer review was almost spot on,

it was very sweet and flat.

but I seem to recall most of their sodas were kinda flat.

I think they had a Vanilla Cream too.

the eighties was a time for boutique craft sodas.

remember Soho Soda?

Frankybonz

I worked for Snapple last back in 2007. When I started, one of the first things I asked about was the root beer. It was cut out after they were partnered up (or bought up... can't remember) with Schweppes. They didn't want internal competition going on.

On another note, the redesign is one of the better ones that I had seen go through there. Most of them were outdated and ugly... kind of like Pepsi's current redesign.