Orangina is the king of orange sodas, quite simply because it is not really an orange soda. It is not a sugar filled mess and there is just something about that seems so natural.
As a lover of this fine drink I literally almost lost my shit seeing it during lockdown in my local Kiwi Mart in Phnom Penh.
To read about lockdown in Phnom Penh click here .
Although with the French origin of this wonderful drink and the former colonial status Cambodia I guess I should not have been surprised.
The world of Orange Soda!
What is Orange Soda? Apparently it is a song, but aside from being a song is also a carbonated drink, not always containing, but at least tasting of orange. Alternatively it can be called Orange Pop, or Orange Soft-drink. And whilst there has not exactly been anything like the cola wars, there is fierce competition out there.
What are the different types of Orange soda?
The market leader and most well known is obviously Fanta. You probably know this, but Fanta was invented by the Nazi Cola company after they couldn’t get their hands on coke. It just an illustrious list that includes Hugo Boss and BMW of Nazi products we still use today.
To read about Nazi products we still use click here .
I do though love Fanta, and all their manor of flavors. I consider myself the founder of #FantaQuest. Best one I have fond? Fanta Tonic water in Belize.
You can read about Fanta Quest here .
And in the UK at least we used to have Tango, infamous for some of the greatest adds in soft-drink history. Tango orange was and in many ways is still da bomb when it comes to Orange soda.
But, what are the biggest selling Orange sodas in the world?
Top 5 best selling Orange Sodas in the world
Amazingly theres no real definitive list on the best selling orange soda brands in the world, so I will take a bit of artistic license here. I’ll list the best selling ones that are known around the world.
Fanta
Fairly obvious s the top selling brand in the world. Yes they were invented by Hitler (kinda), but when you are also owned by Galactic Evil Empire that is Coca-Cola how can anyone compete?
Sunkist
Sunkist was another classic growing up and the Orange Soda wars of the UK at least between these two big guns before Tango jumped onto the scene. Again another great orange soda that can be fund throughout the world.
Kickstart Energizing Orange Citrus
Apparently made by Mountain Dew and very popular in America. I’ve not tried it, but I like Mountain Dew, so would certainly give it a crack.
Aje Orange Soda
I’m going out on a limb here, BUT Aje are the 4th best selling brand of soft-drink in the world. We even have them in Cambodia. They make an orange soda that is OK. Their biggest market is India, hence why they sell so much of it.
Crush Orange Soda
And onto number 5 in our semi-made up list. Crush Orange Soda are the main competitors to Sunkist and Fanta in the United States. Originally founded din 1911 they are part of the the Dr Pepper Group. Fun act Dr Pepper are the oldest soft drink in the US. Although they don’t hold a candle to Dandelion and Burdock!
To read about Dandelion and Burdock click here .
Isn’t this an article about Orangina? Well firstly they are not one of the bet selling Orange sodas in the world, one of the most iconic, yes, but best selling no. They are also different to the rest of the orange soda family.
What is Orangina?
Orangina is a lightly carbonated beverage made from carbonated water, and 12% of juices, mostly orange, boy with the some grapefruit, lemon and citruses thrown in for good measure. Obviously there is some sugar too, but the key is the carbonated water, this is what it makes healthier and from point of view far superior to your average orange soda.
What’s the Orangina story?
Originally invented in Spain it was later called TriNaranjus and was presented at the world fair in Marseille of 1935. A can Frenchman thought he could buy it and settle global orange soda world alight/
Sadly World War 2 put global domination on the back burner for Orangina, because, well Global Domination was also a priority for a certain Mr Hitler. In 1945 the company upped the ante and started making the drink in Algeria and marketing int through Europe and North Africa.
Obviously things did not work out that well in Algeria, so they moved to Marseille in France, and started to grow. In many ways they were so very quintessentially French and for those of us in the UK that would do trips t France a real treat! Of course you could also get it in the UK a special places.
I’ll ignore the rest of the corporate history crap, but they are owned Dr Pepper in the US and Suntory in the rest of the world. It’s sad just how corporate these things go.
This does though mean you can get the drink in a lot of them world. One of these countries being Cambodia. Can you get Orangina in Asia, yes you certainly can.
What makes Orangina so special? – The glass bottle
Its still largely even in an iconic glass bottle that looks a bit like an orange. Drinks test much better when from a bottle and it just looked really cool.
And of course it just tastes frankly amazing. Although I love Fanta, it does taste like you are drinking sugar. Don’t even get me started on Diet Fanta. Orangina tastes like sparkling water that has real oranges in it. It tastes healthy and it is just amazingly refreshing.
And that is why Orangina is the king of orange sodas.