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Article: Soft Drink Industry
- Article from:
- Dictionary of American History
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2003 The Gale Group Inc. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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SOFT DRINK INDUSTRY
SOFT DRINK INDUSTRY,
the production, marketing, and distribution of nonalcoholic, and generally carbonated, flavored, and sweetened, water-based beverages. The history of soft drinks in the United States illustrates important business innovations, such as product development, franchising, and mass marketing, as well as the evolution of consumer tastes and cultural trends.
Many Europeans long believed natural mineral waters held medicinal qualities and favored them as alternatives to often-polluted common drinking water. By 1772, British chemist Joseph Priestley invented a means to synthetically carbonate water, and the commercial manufacturing of artificial mineral ...