Jeffrey Salazar
The first diet soft drink was No-Cal, a sugar-free ginger ale introduced in 1952 by the Kirsch Bottling Company of Brooklyn. No-Cal was originally created for diabetic patients at the Jewish Sanitarium for Chronic Disease and was only sold locally. However, as Americans' desire for weight loss grew, Kirsch began marketing No-Cal to the general public, and by 1953, the drink had become popular in New York City and the surrounding region. The widespread success of No-Cal marked the beginning of the diet beverage era, with numerous companies following suit and releasing their own diet soft drinks throughout the 1950s and 1960s.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Name | No-Cal |
| Year | 1952 |
| Company | Kirsch Bottling Company of Brooklyn |
| Inventors | Brothers Hyman and Morris Kirsch |
| Target Audience | Diabetic patients at the Jewish Sanitarium for Chronic Disease |
| Region | New York City and the surrounding region |
| Sweetener | Cyclamate calcium |
| Flavour | Ginger Ale |
| First Success | Coca-Cola's Tab in 1963 |
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What You'll Learn
The first diet soft drink was No-Cal, launched in 1952
Following the launch of No-Cal, several other companies entered the diet soft drink market. In 1954, Canada Dry launched Canada Dry Glamor, and in 1958, Royal Crown Cola introduced Diet Rite, the first sugarless soda on the market. Diet Rite had a bitter aftertaste, and despite successful trials in Chicago and North Carolina, it sparked a quest to create a diet soda that didn't taste like one. In 1962, Dr Pepper released a diet version, but it sold slowly due to the misconception that it was only for diabetics.
In 1963, the Coca-Cola Company joined the market with Tab, the first diet drink to become popular across the US. Tab was marketed to consumers who wanted to "keep tabs" on their weight. However, its popularity declined after the introduction of Diet Coke in 1982. That same year, Pepsi launched Patio Diet Cola, later renamed Diet Pepsi, and 7 Up introduced Diet 7 Up after the US government banned cyclamate sweeteners.
While diet soft drinks have continued to evolve and remain popular, with new flavours and ingredients, No-Cal holds the distinction of being the first to market in 1952.
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Royal Crown Cola's Diet Rite in 1958
Diet soft drinks were first introduced to the market in 1949, with the launch of La Casera in Madrid, Spain. Artificial sweeteners had been known since the discovery of saccharin in 1878, but the diet beverage era truly began with the launch of La Casera, also known as Gaseosa. This was followed by No-Cal ginger ale in 1952, which was produced by the Kirsch Bottling Company of Brooklyn. No-Cal was invented by brothers Hyman and Morris Kirsch and was initially created for diabetic patients.
In 1958, Royal Crown Cola introduced Diet Rite, the first low-calorie diet cola. It was sweetened with cyclamate and saccharin and was the first sugar-free cola. Following successful trials in Chicago and North Carolina, RC began marketing Diet Rite nationwide in 1962, and it soon became the fourth-best-selling soda in the US. Today, Diet Rite is the non-aspartame diet soft drink brand with the highest sales and uses a combination of sucralose and acesulfame potassium.
Royal Crown Cola, also known as RC Cola, was created by Claud A. Hatcher, a young pharmacist from Columbus, Georgia. Hatcher supplied his family's grocery store with drinks that he produced and bottled. He called his first line of beverages "Royal Crown", and the first cola product "Chero-Cola". Other early products included Royal Crown Ginger Ale, Royal Crown Strawberry, and Royal Crown Root Beer.
Sales grew steadily, and in 1912, Hatcher's basement bottling activities grew into the Chero-Cola Company. The company was renamed Nehi Corporation in 1916, after the successful line of fruity beverages he had developed. Following Hatcher's death in 1933, the company was renamed Royal Crown Cola Company in 1934. Over the years, the company changed hands several times, and in 2021, Royal Crown Cola International was sold to Refresco for US$50 million.
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Coca-Cola's Tab in 1963
Diet soft drinks were first introduced to the market in 1949, with the launch of La Casera in Madrid, Spain. However, it was not until the 1950s and early 1960s that soft drinks containing little to no sugar began to gain popularity. During this time, companies like Kirsch Bottling, Royal Crown Cola, and Dr. Pepper introduced early diet drinks such as "No-Cal", "Diet Rite", and a diet version of Dr. Pepper.
In 1963, The Coca-Cola Company joined the diet soft drink market with Tab, a sugar-free cola-flavoured soft drink. Tab was the first diet drink introduced by Coca-Cola and it quickly became popular across the United States. The drink was marketed towards consumers who wanted to "keep tabs" on their weight and was particularly popular among those looking for an alternative to Coca-Cola's classic beverage. Tab was known for its unique branding, with a stylized name ("TaB") and a distinct bottle design.
Over the years, Coca-Cola introduced several variations of Tab, including fruit-flavoured, root beer, and ginger ale versions. The company also released caffeine-free and clear variations in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Tab's popularity, however, began to decline in 1982 with the introduction of Diet Coke by Coca-Cola. Despite this, Tab retained a cult following, especially in the United States, and the company continued to produce it in smaller quantities alongside its more popular beverages.
In 2006, Coca-Cola introduced a Tab-branded energy drink with a different formula from the standard cola. Unfortunately, Tab's popularity continued to wane, and in October 2020, Coca-Cola announced the discontinuation of the drink as part of its efforts to streamline its brand portfolio during the COVID-19 pandemic. Tab's production finally ended in 2020, leaving a lasting impact on the diet soft drink market and a nostalgic legacy among its fans.
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Dr. Pepper's Dietetic Dr. Pepper in 1962
The history of diet soft drinks began with the discovery of artificial sweeteners like saccharin in 1878. However, it wasn't until the 1949 launch of La Casera in Spain that the diet beverage trend took off. This was followed by No-Cal ginger ale in 1952, which was specifically marketed towards diabetic patients.
In the early 1960s, several companies began introducing their own dietetic beverages. One notable entrant was Dr. Pepper's Dietetic Dr. Pepper, which was first released in cans in 1962 and bottles in 1963. The drink was a diet version of the original Dr. Pepper soda, which had been created by pharmacist Charles Alderton in the 1880s and introduced nationally in the US in 1904.
Dr. Pepper's dietetic offering was an early example of a major soft drink company catering to consumers seeking low-calorie options. However, sales of Dietetic Dr. Pepper were initially slow due to the misconception that it was intended solely for diabetic consumers. To address this issue, the company renamed the product to Sugar Free Dr Pepper in 1966, and later to Diet Dr Pepper in 1987.
The launch of Dietetic Dr. Pepper in 1962 marked a significant step in the evolution of the soft drink industry, as companies began to recognize and respond to consumers' health and weight loss concerns. This trend continued to gain momentum in the following years, with Coca-Cola introducing Tab in 1963 and Pepsi launching Patio Diet Cola (later renamed Diet Pepsi) soon after.
Today, Diet Dr Pepper has become a popular choice for consumers, even ranking as the 10th best-selling soda in 2006 according to Beverage Digest magazine. The success of Dietetic Dr. Pepper and other early diet soft drinks paved the way for a diverse range of low-calorie and sugar-free options that cater to varying consumer preferences and health needs.
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Early diet drinks used cyclamate and saccharin
The first diet soft drink was La Casera (also known as Gaseosa), which was launched in Madrid, Spain, in 1949. It was sweetened with cyclamate. This was followed in 1952 by No-Cal, a sugar-free ginger ale created by the Kirsch Bottling Company of Brooklyn, also using cyclamate calcium. Early diet drinks used cyclamate and saccharin, but in 1969, a study found that a cyclamate-saccharin combination caused bladder cancer in laboratory rats. This led to a ban on cyclamate in food and drink products in 1970.
In 1958, Royal Crown Cola introduced Diet Rite, a dietetic beverage sweetened with cyclamate and saccharin. This was followed in 1962 by a diet version of Dr Pepper, and then in 1963 by Tab, Coca-Cola's first diet product. These drinks also used cyclamate and saccharin. After the ban on cyclamate, diet sodas were reformulated with saccharin alone, but the market share of diet sodas dropped from 20% to 3%.
Saccharin was discovered in 1878/1879 and has been regulated as a food additive by the FDA since 1977. Like cyclamate, it was linked to bladder cancer in laboratory rats in the early 1970s, but this was later disproven in humans. Neither saccharin nor cyclamate is now considered a human carcinogen. However, cyclamate remains banned in the US.
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Frequently asked questions
The first diet soft drink was No-Cal, a sugar-free ginger ale produced by the Kirsch Bottling Company of Brooklyn in 1952.
No-Cal was invented by brothers Hyman and Morris Kirsch. It was initially created for diabetic patients at the Jewish Sanitarium for Chronic Disease and was only sold locally.
The first diet soft drink to become popular across the US was Tab, introduced by the Coca-Cola Company in 1963.
The first artificial sweeteners used in diet soft drinks were cyclamate and saccharin. However, in 1969, an experiment found that a cyclamate combination caused bladder cancer in laboratory rats, leading to a ban on its use in food and drink products.
