Canada Dry


Canada Dry is a brand of soft drinks owned since 2008 by the American company Keurig Dr Pepper. For over a century, Canada Dry has been known for its ginger ale, though the company also manufactures a number of other soft drinks and mixers. Although Canada Dry originated in Canada, it is now produced in many countries around the globe, including the United States, Mexico, Colombia, Peru, Japan, and in a number of countries of the Middle East and Europe.
The "Dry" in the brand's name refers to not being sweet, as in a dry wine. When John J. McLaughlin, who first formulated "Canada Dry Pale Ginger Ale", originally made his new soft drink, it was far less sweet than other ginger ales then available; as a result, he labelled it "dry".

History

In 1890, Canadian pharmacist and chemist John J. McLaughlin of Enniskillen, Ontario, after working in a soda factory in Brooklyn, New York, opened a carbonated water plant in Toronto. McLaughlin was the eldest son of Robert McLaughlin, founder of McLaughlin Carriage and McLaughlin Motor Car. In 1904, McLaughlin created "Canada Dry Pale Ginger Ale". Three years later, the drink was appointed to the Viceregal Household of the Governor General of Canada, and the label featuring a beaver atop a map of Canada was replaced with the present Crown and shield.
When McLaughlin began shipping his product to New York, it became so popular that he opened a plant in Manhattan shortly thereafter. After McLaughlin's death in 1914, the company was run briefly by his brother, Samuel McLaughlin. P. D. Saylor and Associates bought the business from the McLaughlin family in 1923 and formed Canada Dry Ginger Ale, Inc., a public company.
Canada Dry's popularity as a mixer began during Prohibition, when its flavor helped mask the taste of homemade liquor. In the 1930s, Canada Dry expanded worldwide. From the 1950s onward, the company introduced a larger number of products.
Norton Simon took an interest in the company in 1964, and it merged with Simon's other holdings, the McCall Corporation and Hunt Foods, to form Norton Simon Inc. Dr Pepper bought Canada Dry from Norton Simon in 1982. In 1984, Dr Pepper was acquired by Forstmann Little & Company, and Canada Dry was sold to R. J. Reynolds' Del Monte Foods unit to pay off acquisition debt. RJR Nabisco sold its soft drink business to Cadbury Schweppes in 1986. Today, Canada Dry is owned by Keurig Dr Pepper, which was spun off from Cadbury Schweppes in 2008.
In 2019, Canada Dry faced a false advertisement lawsuit from the U.S. Government. According to researchers, the drink did not have enough ginger for it to have health benefits and for the company to claim that it's "made from real ginger." Instead of defending their ginger content by going to court, they decided to settle by no longer making this claim. Dr Pepper decided to offer payment to those who purchased Canada Dry for personal use since 2013. After the settlement with the U.S. Government, a class-action lawsuit has also been requested in Canada., Canada Dry still advertised their drinks as "made from real ginger" in Canada.

Products

Limited availability flavors are produced in Pennsauken Township, New Jersey, by Pepsi-Cola/National Brand Beverages and are distributed in southern New Jersey, Delaware, southeastern Pennsylvania, eastern Maryland, and northern Virginia. At one time, the flavors all had uniquely designed labels; but now all use the standard Canada Dry crest logo.
Brands with limited availability in the United States include:

Asia

North America
Nylon Studios produced the song used in the Rabbit's "Jack's Farm" commercial featuring Canada Dry Ginger Ale. A Cantonese version of the ad was also produced.