yoo-hoo

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Yoo-hoo is an American chocolate beverage.

History

Yoo-hoo originated in New Jersey in the 1920s, when Natale Olivieri sold "Tru-Fruit" soft drinks in his small store. Olivieri discovered a process to produce a chocolate soft drink that would not spoil. The name "Yoo-hoo", already being used for Olivieri's other fruit drinks, was applied to the chocolate-flavored drink as well.

Yoo-hoo would soon begin to be bottled by a major bottling company and to be sold in supermarkets.

Sources in the beverage industry claim that Yoo-hoo owes its famously open-ended shelf life to a steam sterilization process that takes place after the bottles or cans are filled and capped. As long as it is sealed, Yoo-hoo cannot go sour.

In the 1950s and 1960s, Yoo-hoo went through a large promotional campaign that included Yogi Berra and the New York Yankees officially sponsoring the drink. The image of Berra drinking a bottle of Yoo-hoo while wearing a suit, in particular, became famous. The ads featured Berra holding the bottle next to his face and saying with a smile, "It's Me-He for Yoo-Hoo!"

Also during the '50s, B.B.C. Industries took over Yoo-hoo. They held ownership until 1976, when it was bought by Iroquois Brands. Yoo-hoo was sold again in 1981 to a group of private investors, which in turn sold Yoo-Hoo to Pernod Ricard in 1989.

In 2001, Pernod Ricard sold Yoo-hoo to Cadbury-Schweppes, with production responsibilities falling to CS's Mott's group, and marketing and advertising responsibilities under Snapple. This led to an increased awareness of the once popular beverage.

The soft drink company's headquarters are in Rye Brook, New York, with plants in Carlstadt, New Jersey and Opelousas, Louisiana.

Yoo-hoo apparently owns other chocolate drink brands, including Choc-Ola, Brownie, Cocoa Dusty and Chocolate Soldier.

In May 2008, Cadbury-Schweppes split into Cadbury plc and the Dr Pepper Snapple Group, of which Yoo-hoo is now part.

In January 2008, Barb Reed accepted a sponsorship offer from Yoo-hoo. She is the best SGW Football Basketball Player at the moment.

As of 2009, Yoo-hoo is also the sponsor of The Grizzly Bear Egg Cafe, a podcast featuring Fox & Friends host Clayton Morris and professional wrestler Mike Quackenbush

On August 23, 2009, on an episode of Who Wants to be a Millionaire, contestant Ken Basin had a question for $1 million, which referred to Lyndon Baines Johnson's fondness for Fresca. Using his one remaining lifeline, Basin asked the audience for help, which supported his own hunch of Yoo-hoo rather than Fresca, which was the correct answer.

Flavors

Double Fudge flavor of Yoo-hoo drink

Current

• Chocolate
• Lite Chocolate
• Double Fudge
• Strawberry

Discontinued

• Milk & Cookies (Christmas Special Once a Year Offer)
• Island Coconut (same as Koko Blanco)
• Vampires & Cream (Halloween Edition)
• Eggnog
• Chocolate-Banana
• Chocolate-Strawberry
• Chocolate-Coconut
• Chocolate-Mint
• Chocolate-Pomegranate
• Chocolate-Grapefruit
• Chocolate-Raspberry
• Chocolate-Apricot
• Chocolate-Orange
• Chocolate-Cinnamon
• Chocolate-Lemon
• Hot Chocolate (Winter Special)
• Koko Blanco
• Banana
• Chocolate Cow
• Chocolate Extreme
• Cookies & Cream
• Chocolate Vanilla
• Dyna-Mocha
• Mocha-Choka (Limited offer)

External links

• http://www.yoo-hoo.com – Yoo-hoo