Who wants to "feel all orange inside" anyway? (Sunkist)

Name: allybally

Hello doyoo user, You have to be logged in to use these functions... Login or register Close window

Send message to member

Product:	Sunkist
Date:	28/01/08 (82 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: A good source of....aw who am I kidding?

Disadvantages: Sugar...Sugar...Caffeine. ..Sugar...Sugar...um and sugar!

When I saw that Sunkist was this weeks 'Product of the Week' I just couldn't resist the nostalgic trip down memory lane. Within seconds I was reminded of waiting for my cold can of Sunkist to wash down my popcorn at the cinema. After so many years, the taste was still fresh in my mind and without a moments hesitation, I left my desk at work to walk to the nearest shop to buy a can of the sugary, florescent orange drink.

A brief company history
***************************
Sunkist, a Sunkist Growers product was launched in New York a whopping 30 years ago, having been franchised to Coca Cola. It was the brainchild of Mark Stevens who following extensive market research indicating that orange was one of the best selling soft drink flavours worldwide, saw its potential. It wasn't long before both Coca Cola and Pepsi Cola bottlers had increased the franchise nationally. By 1981, Sunkist was already the number one selling orange soft drink.

In 1984 Del Monte bought Sunkist Soft Drinks but since 1987 it has been produced by Cadbury Schweppes with Vimto Soft Drinks producing it in the UK.

What does this orange nectar taste like?
******************************************** ***
Besides the obvious flavour of oranges (duh) Sunkist tastes of sugar. A lot of sugar. An awful, awful lot of sugar. As I sit with my little orange can of childhood memories now and sip at it, gently savouring the taste of innocence for the first time in years, I can feel my molars disintegrating almost instantly, as if I have swallowed a mouth full of sweetened caustic soda. I didn't remember the painfully syrupy texture of the drink.

Once you get past the lethal dose of sugar, there is a surprisingly fresh undiluted taste of orange which momentarily makes your taste buds dance, before being knocked down once again by the army of sugar soldiers marching their way over your tongue with defeat in mind. Sunkist is a much fuller bodied orange flavour than most - not naming any names of course( fanta, tango), and it is a surprisingly refreshing drink considering, unlike most orange soft drinks, it contains Caffeine.
It's a nice citrusy taste and as long as you don't mind turning into a toothless insomniac, it's an enjoyable drink.

Other Sunkist Flavours
*******************
If the orange burst of sunshine that is Sunkist hasn't satisfied you enough, or if you are looking for more fruitful ways of dying a sugary death, try the Lemonade, Pineapple or Cherry Limeade flavours. In the US, residents have the luxury of choosing from a further array of flavours - Strawberry, Peach, Grape and the all American fruit punch.

Do you really want to know what's in it?
*********************************
Sugar. Lots, and lots and lots of sugar. Oh, and a bit of orange flavouring too. Besides that, you've got:

carbonated water;
high fructose corn syrup (It's sugar, no matter what you call it)
Citric Acid;
Sodium Benzoate (preservatives);
starch;
caffeine;
Ascorbic Acid (another preservative to preserve the things that the first preservatives missed I suppose...);
Yellow and red dye and
NATURAL flavours. I'm not entirely sure that the NATURAL in natural flavours has any consequence, but if it eases your conscious, who am I to judge?

Nutritional Value
*******************
C'mon, who are we kidding? You don't really expect there to be nutritional value in this do you? Well, for those of you who have an unexplainable need to know just how bad something is for you, one 240ml can of this citrus bliss contains an amazing 130 calories, all of which comes from the 35g or sugar it contains. Besides the 30mg's of sodium, there is nothing else to tell. Not even any vitamin C to be found.

Packaging
************
In an age where marketing appears to be key to the success of anything, it's interesting to note that the can has hardly changed, at least since my days of sneaking off to the cinema with the big kids. It is a suitably vibrant orange can with blue lettering and a sweet little deceptive orange leaf over the 'I' as if to remind us that we are drinking something that, at some point, whether just in the conception stages or not, was born of the refreshing, natural citrus fruit we all know and love, that is orange.

Price
******
Besides the cost of dental bills for years to come, my can of Sunksit cost me 52p from the corner shop which was in line with other similar products.

Conclusion
*************
I have now, with great sadness, given up on Sunkist Orange soft Drink and have relegated my three quarters full can to the bin. Perhaps, post puberty we develop a switch that doesn't allow us to gain pleasure from the sugar high that we can as kids. Perhaps, years of development and tampering has resulted in a product barely reminiscent of the treat I remember from days of old. Perhaps, my mind had censored all the terrible memories Sunkist induced fillings and sugar headaches.

What ever the reason, this stroll down memory lane has proven to be an utter disappointment. I suppose the reality of some things, like a first kiss/ just can't live up to the memories we create. So with the greatest of sadness, I cannot, in good conscious recommend Sunkist to anyone over the age of 10. As for parents of said under 10's, if your children, like mine only need the meer whiff of sugar to start bouncing off the walls, I would suggest waiting until they are being packed off to Gran's for the night - then give them a six-pack!

Summary: An orange flavoured soft drink celebrating 30 years