Leena Watts
The first diet drink ever made was No-Cal Ginger Ale, produced by the Kirsch Bottling Company of Brooklyn in 1952. It was created by Hyman Kirsch, a Russian immigrant to New York, who wanted to make a sugar-free drink for diabetic patients at the Jewish Sanitarium for Chronic Disease. No-Cal was sweetened with calcium cyclamate and was the first of eleven No-Cal flavours, including root beer, black cherry, lime, cola, and even chocolate. The brand was later relaunched in 2005 by INOV8 Beverage Company LLC.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Name | No-Cal Ginger Ale |
| Creator | Hyman Kirsch and Morris Kirsch |
| Year | 1952 |
| Company | Kirsch Bottling Company of Brooklyn |
| Target Audience | Diabetic patients at the Jewish Sanitarium for Chronic Disease |
| Sales | Over 2 million cases of soda in New York and Washington, D.C. |
| Sweetener | Calcium cyclamate |
| Flavours | Root Beer, Black Cherry, Lime, Cola, Chocolate, and eleven in total |
| Marketing | Advertised as a sugar-free soda for weight-conscious women |
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What You'll Learn
No-Cal: the first diet drink
In 1952, brothers Hyman and Morris Kirsch of the Kirsch Bottling Company of Brooklyn created the first diet drink, a sugar-free ginger ale called No-Cal. Initially, No-Cal was created for diabetic patients at the Jewish Sanitarium for Chronic Disease in New York City and was only sold locally. Hyman Kirsch, a Russian immigrant to New York, had founded a soft drink company in 1904 and later became vice president of the sanitarium.
No-Cal was sweetened with an artificial sweetener called calcium cyclamate, allowing diabetics to enjoy carbonated beverages without affecting their blood sugar. At the time, regular sodas contained 100-150 calories per can, all from sugar. No-Cal was the first of its kind, but it tasted metallic and left a bitter aftertaste. Diabetic patients drank it out of necessity rather than enjoyment.
Hyman Kirsch expanded his reach beyond the sanitarium, following No-Cal Ginger Ale with No-Cal Root Beer, Black Cherry, Lime, Cola, and even Chocolate. Eventually, there were eleven flavours. He advertised the products as sugar-free sodas for weight-conscious women, and the drinks sold well, with over 2 million cases of soda sold in New York and Washington, D.C.
The success of No-Cal spurred other soda companies to create their own diet drinks. In 1954, Canada Dry introduced a zero-calorie ginger ale called Glamor, and in 1955, Royal Crown Cola released Diet Rite, which was sweetened with a mixture of cyclamates and saccharin. Diet Rite was initially marketed to diabetics and sold in drug stores, but in 1961, Royal Crown decided to target a wider market and launched the product in Chicago supermarkets.
The early cyclamates used to sweeten diet sodas were banned by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in 1970 due to their potential carcinogenic effects. No-Cal sodas could not compete for long after bigger players like Coca-Cola and Pepsi entered the market, and the brand dissipated in the 1960s. However, No-Cal was relaunched in 2005 by INOV8 Beverage Company LLC, offering vanilla cream, cherry lime, clementine, and chocolate flavours.
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Diet Rite: Royal Crown Cola's diet drink
While the first diet drink ever made was No-Cal Ginger Ale, created by Hyman Kirsch and his brother Morris Kirsch in 1952, this paragraph will focus on Diet Rite, the first diet soft drink introduced by the Royal Crown Cola Company in 1958.
Royal Crown Cola, also known as RC Cola, has been responsible for a series of industry firsts and has maintained a spirit of innovation since its founding. In 1958, the company introduced Diet Rite, a zero-calorie, sodium-free, and caffeine-free soft drink, originally marketed towards diabetics. The product was sweetened with a mixture of cyclamates and saccharin, and it claimed to have all the taste without the calories. This positioning sparked the true beginning of the diet soda industry, attracting bigger players such as Pepsi and Coca-Cola to enter the market.
Initially, Diet Rite was sold only in drug stores, but in 1961, Royal Crown decided to expand its reach by launching the product in Chicago supermarkets. This expansion marked the beginning of Diet Rite's entry into the mainstream market, as more consumers became interested in healthier beverage options. The trend towards diet drinks has continued to grow, with consumers in a post-pandemic world becoming increasingly health-conscious. Today, manufacturers of diet drinks use artificial sweeteners to mimic the taste, mouthfeel, and aftertaste of regular soda drinks, with Aspartame (NutraSweet) being the most popular sweetener in products like Diet Coke.
Over the years, Diet Rite has continued to innovate, becoming the first to introduce a sodium, caffeine, and calorie-free soft drink sweetened with 100% NutraSweet in 1987. In 1999, they introduced the first energy soda, RC Cola Edge, and in 2000, they launched the first diet soda sweetened with Splenda. Today, RC Cola International offers a diverse range of innovative products, including natural sports drinks, energy drinks, brewed iced tea, craft cola, coffee cola, and sparkling flavored water.
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Tab: Coca-Cola's first diet drink
The first diet drink was No-Cal Ginger Ale, created by the Kirsch Bottling Company of Brooklyn in 1952. However, it was only sold locally and was not targeted at the general population of dieters.
In 1963, Coca-Cola released the first diet drink to become popular across the US: Tab. Tab was Coca-Cola's first zero-calorie drink, sweetened with saccharin and cyclamate. The drink's sales grew quickly, and it was soon followed by Patio Diet Cola (renamed Diet Pepsi) from Pepsi in 1964. This marked the beginning of a direct competition between the two soda makers that shaped the diet soda market for the next fifty years.
Tab was Coca-Cola's response to the rising popularity of diet sodas, which had been spurred by the success of No-Cal. After Tab's release, other manufacturers quickly rushed to the market with their own diet drinks, including Pepsi with Patio Diet Cola (later renamed Diet Pepsi) and Dr Pepper with Like (now known as Diet 7 Up).
Tab is still sold in many countries today, although Coca-Cola has focused more on Diet Coke in the US market since its introduction in 1982. Diet Coke was the first diet drink to emphasise taste over health benefits, with its tagline "Just for the Taste of It". This strategy paid off, and by the end of 1983, Diet Coke was the No. 1 diet soft drink in the US and the top soft drink brand among women.
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Diet Pepsi: Pepsi's first diet drink
The first diet drink ever made was a sugar-free ginger ale called No-Cal, created by the Kirsch Bottling Company of Brooklyn in 1952. It was invented by brothers Hyman and Morris Kirsch, initially for diabetic patients at the Jewish Sanitarium for Chronic Disease in New York City.
Following the success of No-Cal, other soda companies began to create their own diet drinks. In 1958, Royal Crown Cola created Diet Rite, and in 1962, Dr. Pepper released a diet version of their beverage.
Pepsi's first diet drink, Diet Pepsi, was introduced in 1964 as a sugar-free variant of Pepsi. It was first test-marketed in 1963 under the name Patio Diet Cola and was rebranded as Diet Pepsi the following year. Diet Pepsi thus became the first diet cola to be distributed on a national scale in the United States.
In the 1960s and 1970s, Diet Pepsi primarily competed with the Coca-Cola Company's Tab. However, in 1982, the Coca-Cola Company introduced Diet Coke, which has since been the principal competing product to Diet Pepsi.
Over the years, Diet Pepsi has introduced additional variations and flavours, such as wild cherry, vanilla, lemon, and lime. A caffeine-free version is also available internationally, known as Pepsi Light Caffeine Free. The sweetener used in Diet Pepsi has also undergone changes, with a shift from saccharin to aspartame in the 1980s due to health concerns, and a more recent change to sucralose in 2013.
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Artificial sweeteners: the science behind diet drinks
In the battle against obesity, doctors and dietitians have identified sugar as a major enemy. Artificial sweeteners are a common alternative, offering zero calories but retaining a sweet taste. While they seem like a worthy alternative, questions remain about their safety and effectiveness in helping people manage their calorie intake.
Artificial sweeteners are additives that provide the sweet taste of sugar but with fewer or no calories. While some substitutes are natural, most are artificial and created from chemicals in a lab. They can be 200 to 700 times sweeter than table sugar. These sweeteners don't contain calories or sugar, but they also lack beneficial nutrients like vitamins, fibre, minerals, or antioxidants. They are often used in "sugar-free", "keto", "low-carb", or ""diet" foods and drinks.
The first diet soda, No-Cal Ginger Ale, was created in 1952 by Hyman Kirsch, a Russian immigrant to New York and vice president of the Jewish Sanitarium for Chronic Disease. Kirsch wanted to create a sugar-free drink for diabetic and cardiovascular patients, so he used an artificial sweetener called calcium cyclamate to sweeten his drink. This was the first diet soda, but sugar-free products using artificial sweeteners had been made since the 1920s.
The early cyclamates used for sweetening diet sodas were banned by the US Food and Drug Administration in 1970 due to potential carcinogenic effects. They were replaced by saccharin, but this too was the subject of a cancer scare in 1977. Despite these concerns, artificial sweeteners have continued to be used in diet drinks, with the most popular one today being aspartame (also known as NutraSweet). However, some studies have shown that artificial sweeteners may not help with weight loss and can even contribute to obesity and other health issues.
While artificial sweeteners have their benefits, it is important to be aware of potential health risks and consume them in moderation. Dietitians recommend cutting back on highly refined foods and beverages with added sugars and artificial sweeteners, and instead loading up on whole foods like fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and lean proteins.
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Frequently asked questions
The first diet drink ever made was No-Cal Ginger Ale, created by Hyman Kirsch and his brother Morris Kirsch in 1952. It was initially made for diabetic patients at the Jewish Sanitarium for Chronic Disease in Brooklyn, New York.
No-Cal was sweetened with an artificial sweetener called calcium cyclamate, which allowed it to be sugar-free. However, this gave the drink a metallic taste and bitter aftertaste.
No-Cal sold over 2 million cases of soda in New York and Washington D.C. and inspired other companies to create their own diet drinks. However, it could not compete when bigger players like Coca-Cola and Pepsi entered the market, and it dissipated in the 1960s.
In 1954, Canada Dry introduced Glamor, a zero-calorie ginger ale. In 1955, Royal Crown Cola released Diet Rite, which was the first diet drink to be marketed for its nutritional value and weight-conscious consumers. In 1962, Dr. Pepper released a diet version of their drink, and in 1963, Coca-Cola released Tab.
Early diet drinks used artificial sweeteners like cyclamate and saccharin, which were found to have potential health risks. Cyclamate was banned by the FDA in 1969, and saccharin was also the subject of a cancer scare in 1977. This led to the development and approval of other sweeteners like aspartame and sucralose.
