Postobón, S.A. ( ) is the largest Colombian beverage company, and also one of the largest in South America. The company has a wide portfolio of products that includes soft drinks, fruit juices,
bottled water
Bottled water is drinking water (e.g., well water, distilled water, mineral water, or spring water) packaged in plastic or glass water bottles. Bottled water may be carbonated or not. Sizes range from small single serving bottles to lar ...
,
tea
Tea is an aromatic beverage prepared by pouring hot or boiling water over cured or fresh leaves of ''Camellia sinensis'', an evergreen shrub native to East Asia which probably originated in the borderlands of southwestern China and north ...
coffee
Coffee is a drink prepared from roasted coffee beans. Darkly colored, bitter, and slightly acidic, coffee has a stimulating effect on humans, primarily due to its caffeine content. It is the most popular hot drink in the world.
Seeds of ...
.
It has created soft drinks such as "Manzana Postobón", an
apple
An apple is an edible fruit produced by an apple tree (''Malus domestica''). Apple trees are cultivated worldwide and are the most widely grown species in the genus ''Malus''. The tree originated in Central Asia, where its wild ancestor, ' ...
-flavored soda, and its most popular "Colombiana", a cola champagne. Additional flavors of Postobón soda beyond apple include
grape
A grape is a fruit, botanically a berry, of the deciduous woody vines of the flowering plant genus '' Vitis''. Grapes are a non- climacteric type of fruit, generally occurring in clusters.
The cultivation of grapes began perhaps 8,000 years a ...
,
orange
Orange most often refers to:
*Orange (fruit), the fruit of the tree species '' Citrus'' × ''sinensis''
** Orange blossom, its fragrant flower
*Orange (colour), from the color of an orange, occurs between red and yellow in the visible spectrum
* ...
,
pineapple
The pineapple (''Ananas comosus'') is a tropical plant with an edible fruit; it is the most economically significant plant in the family Bromeliaceae. The pineapple is indigenous to South America, where it has been cultivated for many centuri ...
, and
lemon
The lemon (''Citrus limon'') is a species of small evergreen trees in the flowering plant family Rutaceae, native to Asia, primarily Northeast India (Assam), Northern Myanmar or China.
The tree's ellipsoidal yellow fruit is used for culin ...
.
Postobón has expanded its product line by including bottled water and boxed juices; the latter are currently sold under the brandname ''Hit''.
History
On October 11, 1904, Gabriel Posada and Valerio Tobón (the company's name being a
portmanteau
A portmanteau word, or portmanteau (, ) is a blend of wordsMedellín, Colombia, their first product, called "Cola-Champaña", became very famous in bars, stores, social clubs, and homes. This product was distributed in a wagon pulled by a donkey; because of geography the company could not distribute its products throughout all cities and towns. At this stage, Posada and Tobón decided to open two factories; the first was opened in 1906 in
Manizales
Manizales () is a city in central Colombia. It is the capital of the Department of Caldas, and lies near the Nevado del Ruiz volcano.
Currently, the city is the main center for the production of Colombian coffee and an important hub for higher ...
and the second in Cali the same year. Since that time, Postobón products have appeared throughout Colombia.
In 1917, the company launched a new product, "Agua Cristal" which is bottled water. In 1918, Postobón released a brand of carbonated water, "Bretaña."
In 1986 Postobón started sponsorship of the Postóbon team, a professional Colombian cycling team. This was following the successes of the first Colombian professional cycling team -
Café de Colombia
Café de Colombia () was a Colombian based professional road bicycle racing Cycling team active from 1983 to 1990. The team was sponsored by the Colombian coffee growers Federación Nacional de Cafeteros de Colombia.
History
The team came into ...
. In 1986 the team competed in the
Tour de France
The Tour de France () is an annual men's multiple-stage bicycle race primarily held in France, while also occasionally passing through nearby countries. Like the other Grand Tours (the Giro d'Italia and the Vuelta a España), it consists ...
. The team lasted for ten years. Since 1998 to this date, Postobón sponsors football club
Atlético Nacional
Atlético Nacional S. A., best known as Atlético Nacional, is a Colombian professional football club based in Medellín. The club is one of only three clubs to have played in every first division tournament in the country's history, the oth ...
(replacing Leona beer).
Since 2010, Postobón has been the official sponsor of all the Colombian soccer leagues.