Thursday, August 17, 2006

How Was "Kool-Aid" Named?

From Wikipedia:

Kool-Aid is an artificially flavored soft drink concentrate made by Kraft Foods. Kool-Aid is sold as a powder to be mixed with water and a sweetener (sugar or an artificial sweetener). Some versions include the sweetener with the flavor concentrate, only requiring the addition of water.

Kool-Aid was invented by Edwin Perkins in Hastings, Nebraska. 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-Ade (and a few years later, Kool-Aid due to a change in government regulations regarding the need for fruit juice in products using the term "Ade"). Perkins moved his production to Chicago in 1931, and Kool-Aid was sold to General Foods in 1953.