Big Red is a

soft drink A soft drink (see #Terminology, § Terminology for other names) is a class of non-alcoholic drink, usually (but not necessarily) Carbonated water, carbonated, and typically including added Sweetness, sweetener. Flavors used to be Natural flav ...

. It was created in 1937 by Grover C. Thomsen and R.H. Roark and Robert Montes in

Waco, Texas Waco ( ) is a city in and the county seat of McLennan County, Texas, United States. It is situated along the Brazos River and Interstate 35, I-35, halfway between Dallas and Austin, Texas, Austin. The city had a U.S. census estimated 2024 popul ...

Patoski, Joe Nick
"Big Red"
Texas Monthly, 1986. Accessed February 14, 2008. and originally known as Sun Tang Red Cream Soda. It is an

America The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

n variety of cream soda and a special off-brand "blue cream soda". Gary Smith was the chief executive officer of Big Red Group (“BRG”) directly responsible for all functional areas. He successfully acquired and integrated numerous businesses to build BRG into a national company, eventually selling the entire business to Keurig Dr Pepper.

History

The name was changed to "Sun Tang Big Red Cream Soda" in 1959 and to "Big Red" in 1969 by Harold Jansing, then president of the

San Antonio San Antonio ( ; Spanish for " Saint Anthony") is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in Greater San Antonio. San Antonio is the third-largest metropolitan area in Texas and the 24th-largest metropolitan area in the ...

bottling plant, after hearing a golf caddy refer to the soda by that name.Todd, Heather
"Seeing Red"
Beverage World, September 15, 2004. Accessed February 14, 2008 Big Red was an off-brand spin of blue cream soda initially marketed exclusively in Central and South Texas and around

Louisville, Kentucky Louisville is the List of cities in Kentucky, most populous city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, sixth-most populous city in the Southeastern United States, Southeast, and the list of United States cities by population, 27th-most-populous city ...

, and in

Southern Indiana Southern Indiana is a geographic and cultural region that generally comprises the southern third of the U.S. state of Indiana and borders the states of Illinois to the west, Kentucky to the south, and Ohio to the east. Spanning the state's southe ...

. The Louisville connection was due to Roark owning the R.C. Bottling Company in Louisville.

Kentucky Kentucky (, ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north, West Virginia to the ...

was the first state in which this soda was available to consumers.Witt, Kathy. "Made in Kentucky", ''Kentucky Living Magazine'', March 2018, p. 26. May 16, 2018, was proclaimed "Big Red Day" by Louisville mayor Greg Fischer in recognition of the 80th anniversary of Big Red's introduction in that city. The drink is popular in the

Southern United States The Southern United States (sometimes Dixie, also referred to as the Southern States, the American South, the Southland, Dixieland, or simply the South) is List of regions of the United States, census regions defined by the United States Cens ...

, known for its unique taste and red color."jTexas Food - Best of the Best"
, Lonely Planet Blue List, February 26, 2006. Accessed February 14, 2008 Though often thought to be bubble gum, its flavor is a combination of lemon and orange oils, mixed with vanilla. Big Red is produced and distributed by various independent bottlers including Keurig Dr Pepper, CCE, and Pepsi Bottling Group under license from Big Red, Inc., based in

Austin, Texas Austin ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Texas. It is the county seat and most populous city of Travis County, Texas, Travis County, with portions extending into Hays County, Texas, Hays and W ...

. Big Red was the sixth-highest-selling soft drink company in the United States from 2002 to 2004, after

Coca-Cola Coca-Cola, or Coke, is a cola soft drink manufactured by the Coca-Cola Company. In 2013, Coke products were sold in over 200 countries and territories worldwide, with consumers drinking more than 1.8 billion company beverage servings ...

Pepsi Pepsi is a Carbonated water, carbonated soft drink with a cola flavor, manufactured by PepsiCo which serves as its flagship product. In 2023, Pepsi was the second most valuable soft drink brand worldwide behind Coca-Cola; the two share a long ...

, Dr Pepper/7Up, Cott, and National Beverage Company.Food and Drink Europe, February 25, 2003.
"Coke Stretches Lead Over Pepsi"
/ref> It is the preeminent red cream soda in the

South South is one of the cardinal directions or compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both west and east. Etymology The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Proto-Germanic ''*sunþa ...

.Bates, Karen Grigsby
"Red Sodas Are a Mainstay at Texas Celebrations"
National Public Radio, ''Day to Day'', June 19, 2007. Accessed February 14, 2008Moskin, Julia

New York Times, June 18, 2004. Accessed February 14, 2008 In 2007, Big Red Ltd. was purchased by Gary Smith, with backing from Citigroup Venture Capital and

Goldman Sachs The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. ( ) is an American multinational investment bank and financial services company. Founded in 1869, Goldman Sachs is headquartered in Lower Manhattan in New York City, with regional headquarters in many internationa ...

. Smith serves as the chairman and CEO of Big Red and All Sport, Inc. In 2008, Keurig Dr Pepper purchased a minority interest in Big Red, Inc. Dr Pepper distributes almost 80% of Big Red annually. Although the production facility is still in Waco, Texas, Big Red relocated their corporate headquarters to Austin, Texas, in 2009. In 2020, Islla St. Brewery in San Antonio, Texas created a Big Red flavored beer called Big Rojo (later renamed Wild Rojo).

Flavors

Current

*Big Red *Big Red Zero (formerly Diet Big Red) *Retro Big Red (sweetened with cane sugar rather than high-fructose corn syrup)

Current, limited availability

*Big Red Vanilla Float *Big Honey Lemonade *Big Blue *Big Pineapple *Big Peach *Big Manzana (apple flavored)

Former

*Sugar Free Big Red Vanilla Float *Big Punch Fruit Punch *Big Orange

References

External links

Big Red's websiteBig Red's NASCAR sponsorship
{{DEFAULTSORT:Big Red (Drink) Cream sodas Products introduced in 1937 American soft drinks Companies based in Austin, Texas Texas culture