Kool-Aid is a brand of flavored drink mix owned by Kraft Foods.

History[link]

The building in Hastings, Nebraska, where Kool-Aid was invented

Kool-Aid was invented by Edwin Perkins in Hastings, Nebraska, United States. All of his experiments took place in his mother's kitchen.^[1] 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-Aid. Perkins moved his production to Chicago in 1931 and Kool-Aid was sold to General Foods in 1953.^[2] Hastings still celebrates a yearly summer festival called Kool-Aid Days on the second weekend in August, in honor of their city's claim to fame. Kool-Aid is known as Nebraska's official soft drink.^[3][4]

Production[link]

Kool-Aid is usually sold in powder form, in either packets or small tubs. The drink is prepared by mixing the powder with sugar and water (typically by the pitcher-full). The drink is then refrigerated and later served. Additionally, there are some sugar-free varieties. Kool-Aid is/was also sold as single-serving packets designed to be poured into bottled water, as small plastic bottles with pre-mixed drink, or as novelties (ice cream, fizzing tablets, etc.)

Advertising and promotion[link]

Kool-Aid Man, an anthropomorphic frosty pitcher filled with Kool-Aid, is the mascot of Kool-Aid. The character was introduced shortly after General Foods acquired the brand in the 1960s. In TV and print ads, Kool-Aid Man was known for randomly bursting through walls of children's homes and proceeding to make a batch of Kool-Aid for them. His catch phrase is "Oh, yeah!"

Starting in 2011, Kraft began allocating the majority of the Kool-Aid marketing budget towards Latinos. According to the brand, almost 20 percent of Kool-Aid drinkers are Hispanic, and slightly more than 20 percent are African-American.^[5]

Flavors[link]

Other products[link]

• Kool-Aid Twists drink mixes (discontinued, some flavors no longer have the "Twists" moniker on the package)
• Kool-Aid Ice Cream Bars
• Kool-Aid Singles drink mixes
• Kool-Aid Bursts
• Kool-Aid Jammers Capri Sun like juice pouches
• Kool-Aid Fun Fizz/Pop 'n Drop
• Kool-Pops frezer pops
• Kool-Aid Koolers juice boxes (discontinued)
• Kool-Aid Dippers (discontinued)
• Kool-Aid Drink Pitchers
• Kool-Aid Island Twists drink mixes (discontinued)
• Kool-Aid Mega Mountain Twists drink mixes (discontinued)
• Kool-Aid Fruit T's drink mixes (discontinued)
• Ghoul-Aid Halloween themed drink mixes (discontinued)
• Sugar Free Kool-Aid drink mixes
• Kool-Aid Magic Twists drink mixes (discontinued) the powder of the drink mix changed color
• Sharkleberry Fin Kool Pumps (discontinued) was a Burger King promotional item
• Kool-Aid Ice Cool drink mixes (discontinued) gave the drinker a cooling sensation
• Kool-Aid Invisible drink mixes turns the white drink mix powder clear
• Kool-Aid Blast Offs space themed drink mixes (discontinued)

In popular culture[link]

• "Drinking the Kool-Aid" refers to the 1978 Jonestown Massacre; the phrase suggests that one has mindlessly adopted the dogma of a group or leader without fully understanding the ramifications or implications: at Jonestown, Jim Jones' followers followed him to the end: after visiting Congressman Leo Ryan was shot at the airstrip, all the Peoples Temple members drank from a metal vat containing a mixture of "Kool Aid" (actually Flavor Aid), Cyanide, and prescription drugs Valium, Phenergan, and chloral hydrate. Present-day descriptions of the event often refer to the beverage not as Kool-Aid but as Flavor Aid,^[10] a less-expensive product reportedly found at the site.^[11] Kraft Foods, the maker of Kool-Aid, has stated the same.^[12][13] Implied by this accounting of events is that the reference to the Kool-Aid brand owes exclusively to its being better-known among Americans. Others are less categorical.^[10] Both brands are known to have been among the commune's supplies: Film footage shot inside the compound prior to the events of November shows Jones opening a large chest in which boxes of both Flavor Aid and Kool-Aid are visible.^[14] Criminal investigators testifying at the Jonestown inquest spoke of finding packets of "cool aid" (sic), and eyewitnesses to the incident are also recorded as speaking of "cool aid" or "Cool Aid."^[15] However, it is unclear whether they intended to refer to the actual Kool-Aid–brand drink or were using the name in a generic sense that might refer to any powdered flavored beverage.
• In 1990 Victims Family release a song named Drink the Kool-Aid, referring to the above mentioned massacre
• In 2010 Ice Cube released a song named "Drink the Kool-Aid"
• The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test is a work of literary journalism by Tom Wolfe depicting the life of Ken Kesey and the Merry Pranksters. The book's title is a reference to an acid test in Watts, California, where the Pranksters spiked a batch of Kool-Aid with the psychedelic drug LSD in the 1960s.^{[citation needed]}
• Family Guy has often featured the Kool-Aid Man bursting through a wall and exclaiming "Oh yeah!" This happens at inappropriate times, leaving the Kool-Aid Man embarrassed as he retreats back into the hole he made, e.g. towards the end of the courtroom scene in "Stewie Kills Lois" (Season 6, episode 4).^[16]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official website
• History of Kool-Aid from a museum in Hastings, Nebraska