Schweppes Diet Tonic Water Soda Label

This Schweppes diet tonic water label measures 3.5” Wide x 2.9” High and has a clear warning about it containing saccharin (my favorite sweetener), which I think is from the 1980s or 1990s. It also contains Quinine which comes from the bark of the cinchona tree growing in the rain forest of the Andes. Interestingly the product today still contains saccharin and quinine; there is just no blatant warning on the labels. Way to stick to your guns, Schweppes.

The company really has an interesting history. In 1783, Jacob Schweppe, a young Swiss watchmaker, perfected an inexpensive way to produce carbonated mineral water. In 1790 he entered into a joint venture with pharmacist Henry Gosse, engineer Jacques Paul, and his son Nicholas to form Schweppe, Paul & Gosse in Geneva. Schweppe moved to London in 1792 to establish the company's English operations, and the next year the partnership dissolved, but he retained the London business. In those days, aerated water was believed to have medicinal value, and Schweppe's brand was popular because it had a higher level of carbonation than its competitors. In 1799 Schweppe sold a 75 percent interest in his business and decided to retire. The company, however, continued to use the Schweppe name, which was later changed to Schweppes.

In 1834 the company was sold again to William Evill and John Kemp-Welch whose descendants would be with the company until 1950.  In the 1870s Schweppes started selling ginger ale and tonic water, now its most famous product, in response to a demand from Britons returning from India who had developed a taste for the solution of quinine, sugar, and water they had drunk there as a malaria preventative.

Jumping forward, in 1968, Watkinson, chairman of Schweppes met with confectioner Cadbury’s Chairman Adrian Cadbury at a trade show and found that they had similar concerns about competing with the huge U.S. companies. Schweppes and Cadbury began merger talks and reached an agreement in January 1969. The new company, Cadbury Schweppes PLC is one of the oldest and largest family-run businesses in the world today. They also own Dr Pepper/Seven Up, Canada Dry, and Duffy-Mott.

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