RC cola also known as Royal Crown Cola is a known name now. Its journey started in 1905 and from then it has continued its operation spontaneously even till now. The first flavor was called Royal Crown Ginger Ale and as the name suggests, it was made of ginger. After that, many flavors have been introduced to cope up with the consumer’s choice. Today we shall discuss about the whereabouts of the owners of RC cola. Let us know Who Owns Royal Crown Cola.
Who Owns Royal Crown Cola?
Being originated from Columbus, Georgia, its market now covers more than 70 countries. The founder of RC cola was a pharmacist named Claud Hatcher who died in 1933. After his death, in 1934, RC cola was born. In 2000, RC cola was acquired by Cadbury Schweppes. After spinning off as Dr Pepper Snapple Group or DPSG in 2008, it merged with Keurig Dr Pepper in 2018 who owns it still now. A Phillipine based company named Macay Holdings declared that he owns Royal Crown cola Global Beverages in September, 2022, which is still under further documentation and finalization.
Founder of RC cola
In 1903, a grocery wholesaler named hatcher who is also known as the founder and inventor of RC cola started selling soft drinks in his family owned grocery store. He bought a large amount of Coca-Cola syrup from a local salesman named Robert and started a company. Later on, due to a personal conflict with Robert, hatcher started developing his own formula in the basement of his store and finally introduced his first product Royal Crown Ginger Ale in 1905. After that, he introduced two more products named Royal Crown Strawberry and Royal Crown Root Beer. In 1910, the company changed its name into Chero-Cola. In 1925, the company was again renamed into Nehi Corporation. After being reintroduced by a chemist named Kamm, Chero-Cola finally revealed itself with the name RC Cola in 1934.
RC Cola owners after the 1950s
In the 1950s, RC cola was exceptionally famous and was mostly eaten with Moon Pies. In 1954, it introduced canned soft cola drinks for the first time. In 1958, the company released Diet Rite. In 1980, it launched a caffeine-free product which was successfully released as a ‘premium’ cola in mid-1990s. Although the project was a flop, instead of using the conventional high fructose corn syrup, pure sugarcane sugar was used in Premium cola. Later on, to gain a competitive advantage, the company decided to release Cherry Coke.
RC Cola owners of the Twenty-first Century
After being sold to Triarc (also known as DWG Corporation), in 2000, Cadbury Schweppes bought RC cola by acquiring Triarc’s beverage business part. Then, Cadbury Schweppes declared spin off and entered the market with the name DPSG (Dr Pepper Snapple Group) in 2008. In 2018, DPSG merged with Keurig Green Mountain and thus fall under Keurig Dr Pepper Inc. later on. All non US branches of RC cola were sold to a Canada based company named Cott Beverages in 2001 collectively named as Royal Crown Cola International. Cott Beverages again sold Royal Crown Cola International to Refresco in 2021. However, Refresco again sold Royal Crown Cola International to RC cola Global Beverages later. In 2022, a phillipine based company named Macay Holdings declared to own RC cola Global Beverages fully which is still under further negotiation.
Keurig Dr Pepper Incorporation in a nutshell
Keurig Dr Pepper was originated as Green Mountain Coffee Roasters in 1981. After being enlisted for the IPO, Green Mountain Coffee Roasters acquired brewing machine manufacturing company Keurig Inc. in 1993. In 2016, the company changed its name into Keurig Green Mountain. In 2018, after acquiring Dr Pepper Snapple Group, the combined company was further renamed as Keurig Dr Pepper. Thus, it was also previously known as Green Mountain Coffee Roasters and Keurig Green Mountain. It is a public company headquartered in Massachusetts. Its east-coast division produces keurig brewing systems and its Dr Pepper Snapple division is responsible for selling sodas, juices and different soft drinks. A few of its well-known brands are 7 Up, Dr Pepper, RC Cola (Diet Rite and Nehi), Schweppes, Snapple, Diedrich Coffee etc. It is a globally recognized supplier of Brewing systems and Brewing pods. Its beverage brewing systems are mainly built for home and commercial use. It’s the 3rd largest beverage company in North America and was successfully created when Keurig Green Mountain merged with Dr Pepper Snapple Group in 2018.
Macay Holdings in a nutshell
Macay Holdings is a Philippine based company headquartered in San Antonio Village, Metro Manila. In 1930, it was originated as Maybank ATR Kim Eng Financial Corporation (MAKE) which was mainly an investment company. In 2013, after entering into a share purchase agreement with Mazy’s Capital Inc., it again merged with ARC Refreshments Corporation (ARC) later on. ARC Refreshments Corporation (ARC) was the holder of the trademark licenses of RC cola in Philippines. As the company was renamed into Macay Holdings in 2014, it gained the right of distributing RC cola for the Asian regions.
Conclusion
RC cola has changed its owner several times ever since it started. From a small grocery store to a global conglomerate, the enormous journey was quite successful. It is now a known name all over the world. RC cola is selling several fruity flavors now such as Orange, Grape, Strawberry, Green Apple, Lemon, Kiwi Strawberry, Mango Melon etc. Other than these, RC cola coffee, RC cola Vanilla and RC cola Lemon are also available. It is currently owned by Keurig Dr Pepper but as the Share purchase agreement with Macay Holsings proceeds, they are likely to become its next owner.
Frequently Asked Questions
- In which state of the US is RC cola’s popularity the highest?
Tennessee state has the highest popularity. In Tennessee state, most lunches are served with RC cola.
- Which one is older between coke and RC cola?
Coke was invented in 1886 by a doctor named John Pemberton while RC cola was invented in 1905 by a pharmacist named Cloud A. Hatcher. So, Coke is the older one in this case.
