Arizona Beverage Company
 | |
 Headquarters in Woodbury, New York | |
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Food & drink |
| Predecessor | Ferolito, Vultaggio & Sons (1971) |
| Founded | May 5, 1992 in Brooklyn, New York, U.S. |
| Founders | Don Vultaggio John Ferolito |
| Headquarters | Woodbury, New York, |
Areas served | Worldwide, mainly in the United States, Canada and Mexico |
Key people | Don Vultaggio (Chairman & President) Rob Marciano (Executive Vice President of Global Sales and Marketing) David Menashi (CEO) |
| Products | Ready-to-drink teas, juices, and coffees, snacks and alcoholic beverages |
| Brands | AriZona Tea, Sunbrew Coffee |
| Parent | Hornell Brewing Co., Inc. (dba Vultaggio & Sons) |
| Website | www |
Arizona Beverages USA (stylized as AriZona) is a producer of many flavors of iced tea, juice cocktails, and energy drinks based in Woodbury, New York.[1] Arizona's first product was made available in 1992, to compete with Snapple. Both companies originated in New York.
AriZona is known for its "Big Can" drinks holding 22 US fl oz (650 mL) of iced teas, except for the AriZona chocolate fudge float at 695 mL. Juice drinks and other beverages that retail for around the price of US$0.99 in the United States and C$1.29 in Canada. Their beverages also come in 20 US fl oz (590 mL), 16 US fl oz (470 mL), 11.5 US fl oz (340 mL), as well as a 128 US fl oz (3,800 mL) (gallon) of AriZona.
The "Arnold Palmer blend" of iced tea and lemonade has been commercially available since the 1990s; AriZona has since risen to become the most popular primary distributor of the beverage, with over $100 million in sales in 2010.[2]
AriZona also distributes packed trays of tortilla chip products, consisting of "Nachos 'n' Cheese" and "Salsa 'n' Chips".[3] In 2020, the company introduced a line of fruit snacks in mixed fruit, Arnold Palmer, and green tea varieties.[4] They also have a major line of merch and drink mixes, including products such as rollerblades and skateboard wheels.[5]
History
[edit]The company roots trace back to 1971 when friends John Ferolito and Don Vultaggio opened a beverage distribution business in Brooklyn, New York. The company was a successful beer distributor.[citation needed]
In 1990, they saw the success of Snapple (also a Long-Island-based company founded in the 1970s) bottled juices and teas, and attempted to make their product. In 1992, they produced the first bottles of their own AriZona teas.[6] Vultaggio said the name was originally Santa Fe, in response to the adobe-style house he lived in, but he felt it did not look right on the packaging. He went with Arizona even though he had never been to the state and, in fact, had not even traveled west of the Mississippi River.[7] According to Vultaggio's son Spencer, the can designs came from his mother, Eileen,[8] whose water cooler inspired the lemon tea can design and whose perfume bottle, along with Spencer's coloring books, inspired the green tea design.[5] BevNet.Com added that graphic designer Jean Pettine also worked on the initial designs;[8] she would go on to design posters advertising the initial release of the green tea flavor.[9]
The suggested retail price printed on the can has remained at $0.99 even with rising costs for the company and despite rising inflation.[10][11] Retailers, however, can set their own price, with the company also producing cans without the 99¢ price on them as an option for retailers.[12]
References
[edit]- ^ "AriZona Beverages - AriZona Beverages - America's No. 1 Selling Iced Tea Brand". AriZona Beverages - America’s No. 1 Selling Iced Tea Brand. Retrieved 14 August 2015.
- ^ Rovell, Darren (13 May 2010). "Arnold Palmer Finally Making Big Money Off His Drink". CNBC. Retrieved 13 April 2017.
- ^ "AriZona Beverages - AriZona Beverages - America's No. 1 Selling Iced Tea Brand". AriZona Beverages - America’s No. 1 Selling Iced Tea Brand. Archived from the original on 1 February 2014. Retrieved 14 August 2015.
- ^ "AriZona Beverages introduces two new fruit snack mixes | 2020-12-14 | Candy Industry". www.candyindustry.com. Retrieved 1 August 2022.
- ^ a b Saxena, Jaya (May 7, 2019). "How Arizona Iced Tea Became the Hypebeast's Drink of Choice". Eater. Retrieved April 12, 2024.
- ^ "AriZona History" Archived July 6, 2012, at the Wayback Machine, AriZona website
- ^ Jordan Valinsky. "The surprising backstory of AriZona Iced Tea's name". CNN. Retrieved 2022-08-28.
- ^ a b Khermouch, Gerry (August 15, 2009). "A Brief History Of Arizona". BevNet.com. Retrieved 12 April 2024.
- ^ "THE MEDIA BUSINESS: ADVERTISING -- ADDENDA;Mass Marketing Goes Mass Transit". The New York Times (national ed.). July 25, 1996. p. 6, section D. Retrieved April 12, 2024.
- ^ "Arizona Iced Tea founder on why he's kept the 99-cent price tag: 'We're successful'". TODAY.com. 2024-06-27. Retrieved 2024-07-04.
- ^ "AriZona iced tea is still 99 cents. In this economy, how is that possible?". WAVY.com. 2022-08-28. Retrieved 2022-08-28.
- ^ "FAQs". drinkarizona.com. 2023-04-19. Retrieved 2023-04-19.
