"Oh, yeah!” That simple phrase conjures an image of a glass pitcher with a smiley face for generations of kids who grew mixing packets of powder, sugar and water together for a tasty drink to “wipe out thirst.” Some of you even have the containers you made this stuff in with the stains on the plastic to prove it.
Yes, I am referencing Kool-Aid and the ever-popular Kool-Aid Man. Kool-Aid still exists as a brand of flavored drink mix and is now owned by Kraft Heinz, but it certainly doesn’t have the allure it had decades prior.
Edwin Perkins of Hastings, Nebraska, invented the powder form of Kool-Aid in 1927 when trying to improve on a liquid concentrate called Fruit Smack. Like most all great inventors, his experiments started in his mother’s kitchen. Perkins was attempting to create a powder version of Fruit Smack that would be easier — and less expensive — to ship. Once he devised a solution, he moved production to Chicago. This success sparked the interest of large companies, and Kool-Aid was sold to General Foods.
If you have ever been to Hastings (about 100 miles west of Lincoln), you know how important Kool-Aid is to the community, as the residents have a festival called Kool-Aid Days on the second weekend in August. And, of course, Kool-Aid is Nebraska's official soft drink. Why not?
The original six flavors of Kool-Aid were cherry, grape, lemon-lime, orange, raspberry and strawberry. I preferred grape or strawberry, but they were all fantastic. Singles flavors were later introduced including black cherry, tropical punch, lemonade, pink lemonade, cherry, watermelon, orange and summer punch. Again, how could you go wrong?
General Foods introduced The Kool-Aid Man and the ingenious marketing shortly after acquiring the brand in the 1950s. You may remember the Kool-Aid Man crashing through walls and fences and then making a batch of Kool-Aid for kids while shouting, “Oh, yeah!” I had a ring-neck Kool-Aid T-shirt with this image and slogan on it as a kid. I wore it out.
Kool-Aid is now available in liquid drops, but it just isn’t the same. There was something about being a kid and standing on a chair at the kitchen counter, measuring the Kool-Aid powder and mixing it up with a wooden spoon that just can’t be replicated with any type of drops. Yes, this is a job for Kool-Aid. “Hey, Kool-Aid!”
What are your Kool-Aid memories? Send me a note and let me know. And if you are curious how Kool-Aid’s TV marketing changed through the years, check out this fun video.
Have a wonderful Wednesday, and thanks for reading.
Shane Goodman
President and Publisher
Big Green Umbrella Media
shane@dmcityview.com
515-953-4822, ext. 305
www.thedailyumbrella.com | 
