Wikipedia

A&W Root Beer

A&W Root Beeris an American brand ofroot beerthat was founded in 1919 byRoy W. Allen[3]and primarily available in theUnited StatesandCanada.Allen partnered with Frank Wright in 1922, creating theA&Wbrand and inspiring a chain of A&W Restaurants founded that year. Originally, A&W Root Beer sold for five cents (equivalent to $0.88 in 2023).[4]

A&W Root Beer
TypeRoot Beer
ManufacturerKeurig Dr Pepper(United States, Worldwide)
A&W Canada,Coca-Cola Canada Bottling Company (Canada)
Coca-Cola Beverages Philippines(Philippine restaurant only)
Country of originUnited States
Introduced1919;106 years ago(1919)
Related productsBarq's,Mug Root Beer,Dad's Root Beer,Hires Root Beer,A&W Cream Soda
Websitewww.rootbeer
A&W Root Beer
Nutritional value per 8.1 fl oz / 1 cup / 240 ml
Energy120 kcal (500 kJ)
31
Sugars31
Dietary fiber0
0
Saturated0
Trans0
0
Vitamins and minerals
VitaminsQuantity
%DV†
Vitamin A equiv.
0%
0 μg
Vitamin C
0%
0 mg
MineralsQuantity
%DV†
Calcium
0%
0 mg
Iron
0%
0 mg
Potassium
0%
0 mg
Sodium
1%
30 mg
Other constituentsQuantity
Cholesterol0
†Percentages estimated usingUS recommendationsfor adults,[1]except for potassium, which is estimated based on expert recommendation fromthe National Academies.[2]

The rights to the A&W brand (except in Canada) are owned byKeurig Dr Pepper,which in turn licenses the brand to the U.S.-based A&W Restaurant chain. A&W Root Beer products are distributed via various U.S. bottlers.A&W Food Services of Canada,which is independent of both Keurig Dr Pepper and the U.S. restaurant chain, is responsible for the restaurants and marketing of root beer products in Canada,[5]with retail products bottled and distributed bythe Coca-Cola Company.The U.S. variant is also sold as an import drink inSoutheast AsiaandItaly(where A&W has restaurants), as well as inAustralia,Chile,and other countries.

History

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Roy W. Allenopened a roadsideroot beerstand inLodi, Californiain 1919, using a formula that he had purchased from a pharmacist.[6]He soon opened stands inStockton,as well as five stands in nearbySacramento- where "tray boys" pioneereddrive-incurbside service. In 1920 Allen partnered with Frank Wright, birthing the A&W brand name.[7]

Allen bought Wright out, obtained a trademark, and began selling restaurantfranchises- creating one of the firstrestaurant chainsin the United States. Franchise owners could use the A&W name and logo and purchased concentrated root beer syrup from Allen. There was no common menu, architecture, or set of procedures, and some chose to also sell food. By 1933 there were 170 A&W franchises.[6]

Franchises struggled with labor shortages and sugar rationing duringWorld War II,but following the warGI loanshelped, in part, the number of A&W outlets to triple. The proliferation of the automobile and the mobility it offered resulted in more than 450 A&W Root Beer stands operating by 1950. That year Allen retired and sold the business toNebraskanGene Hurtz, who formed the A&W Root Beer Company. The first A&W Root Beer outlet in Canada opened in 1956.

By 1960 the number of A&W restaurants swelled to more than 2,000.

In 1963 the company was sold to the J. Hungerford Smith Company, which had produced Allen's concentrate since 1921. That year the first overseas A&W restaurant opened its doors inGuam.In 1966 Hungerford was sold to theUnited Fruit Company,which merged with AMK Corporation in 1970 to form theUnited Brands Company.[8]

In 1971 United Brands formed a wholly owned subsidiary, A&W Distributing Co., to retail its root beer. After test runs inArizonaand California the products were distributed nationally, including sugar-free, low-sodium, and caffeine-free versions. In 1974, A&W introduced "The Great Root Bear," a mascot that served as a goodwill ambassador for the brand.

In the late 1970sA&W Restaurantswas formed to manage restaurant franchising. It was bought in 1982 byA. Alfred Taubman.

The bear and its associated jingle became the basis of a long-running Canadian advertising campaign. The mascot was so successful that it was eventually adopted by the American A&W chain as well.

In 1983, United Brands sold A&W Root Beer to a group of investors. In 1986,Hicks & Haasand management bought A&W from the investor group.[9]

In 1986 A&W Cream Soda and A&W Diet Cream Soda were introduced and distributed nationally, followed in 1987 by the reformulation of A&W Sugar-Free as Diet A&W. Also in 1986, A&W acquiredSquirt.The company went public in 1987 and also acquiredVernors.[9]

In October 1993 A&W Beverages was folded intoCadburyBeverages. It spun off its U.S. beverages business asDr Pepper Snapple Groupin 2008.

In July 2017 A&W Canada reformulated its root beer, droppinghigh fructose corn syrupand some flavors from the recipe, substitutingcane sugar,sarsaparilla root,licorice,birch barkandanise.[clarification needed]A&W Canada launched the new formula by declaring Free Root Beer Day, serving free root beer at all locations on July 22, 2017.[10]

In November 2020 Diet A&W was rebranded as A&W Zero Sugar.[11]

Brands

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  • A&W Sugar-Free was introduced in 1974[3]and reformulated as Diet A&W in 1987.[3]In 2020, it was rebranded again under the name A&W Zero Sugar.[11]
  • A&W Cream Sodaand A&W Diet Cream Soda were introduced in 1986.[3]
  • A&W FloatsandSunkist Floatswere introduced in 2008.
  • A&W TEN, a low-calorie root beer, began appearing in American supermarkets in the spring of 2013.

Promotions and contests

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  • ThrougheBay,A&W andJim Belushioffered a trip to Los Angeles with aVIPpass to the "A&W Ultimate All-American Cookout and Concert" at theHouse of Blues.[12]
  • In celebration of its 100th anniversary, A&W offered a free two-liter bottle of its root beer in exchange for taking the Family Fun Pledge, which asked participants to be "technology-free for one hour every Friday night this summer."[13]

The Great Root Bear

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Rooty in his Canadian version

TheGreat Root Bear,also called Rooty, became the mascot for A&W Root Beer in 1973.[14]

In a long-running television advertising campaign for the Canadian A&W chain, his theme was a tuba-driven jingle entitled "Ba-Dum, Ba-Dum". The jingle was released as a single byAttic Recordsin Canada. It was credited to "Major Ursus", a play on the constellation nameUrsa Major,which means "great bear". The famous Canadian composer and B.C. Hall of Fame enshrinee Robert Buckley helped compose the song.

In late 2011, the new ownership of A&W began using the mascot again, particularly in A&W's online presence.[15]

A&W Restaurants

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Main articles:A&W RestaurantsandA&W (Canada)
A&W Restaurants logo

Shortly after Allen bought out Wright's portion of the business he began franchising the product. Hisprofitscame from a small franchise fee and sales of concentrate. There was no standard foodmenufor franchises until 1978. By 1960 the company had 2,000stores.

In 1989 A&W made an agreement withMinnesota-based chain Carousel Snack Bars to convert that chain's 200 locations (mostly kiosks in shopping malls) to "A&W Hot Dogs & More".[16][17]Some A&W Hot Dogs & More locations are in operation today.

Many A&W locations that opened in the U.S. during the Yum! Brands ownership years (2002–2011) were co-branded with Yum!'s other chains—Long John Silver's,Taco Bell,Pizza HutorKFC.

As of December 2011 A&W was under new ownership and its world headquarters was moved back toLe xing ton, Kentucky.Since then, in the United States and Southeast Asia, A&W has been a franchisee-owned company.[18][clarification needed]

References

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Citations

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  1. ^United States Food and Drug Administration(2024)."Daily Value on the Nutrition and Supplement Facts Labels".FDA.Archivedfrom the original on 2024-03-27.Retrieved2024-03-28.
  2. ^National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine; Health and Medicine Division; Food and Nutrition Board; Committee to Review the Dietary Reference Intakes for Sodium and Potassium (2019)."Chapter 4: Potassium: Dietary Reference Intakes for Adequacy".In Oria, Maria; Harrison, Meghan; Stallings, Virginia A. (eds.).Dietary Reference Intakes for Sodium and Potassium.The National Academies Collection: Reports funded by National Institutes of Health. Washington, DC: National Academies Press (US). pp.120–121.doi:10.17226/25353.ISBN978-0-309-48834-1.PMID30844154.Retrieved2024-12-05.
  3. ^abcd"A&W Root Beer - History".Archived fromthe originalon 2008-01-14.Retrieved2007-12-22.– A&W root beer's official history
  4. ^Our Brands – Keurig Dr Pepper
  5. ^A&W Revenue Royalties Income Fund."About A&W Food Services of Canada Inc".Archived fromthe originalon 2011-07-06.Retrieved2011-02-23.
  6. ^abSmith, Andrew F., Encyclopedia of Junk Food and Fast Food, Greenwood Press, 2006. p. 1.
  7. ^"The History of Root Beer".
  8. ^"A&W's All-American Experience Endures 100 Years Later".QSR magazine.Retrieved2020-08-27.
  9. ^abhttps:// nytimes /1989/01/15/business/a-w-prospering-by-avoiding-the-big-boys-a-w-avoids-the-big-boys.html
  10. ^"A&W Canada is brewing root beer with natural ingredients".A&W Food Services of Canada.5 July 2017.Retrieved5 January2019.
  11. ^ab"A&W Root Beer Zero Sugar (Diet) available now. Buy today!".
  12. ^eBay Bidders Can Vie for Trip to A&W Root Beer's 'Ultimate All-American Cookout and Concert' Featuring Jim Belushi and The Sacred Hearts Band; Proceeds From Online Charity Auction to Benefit John Belushi Scholarship Fund. – PR Newswire
  13. ^"Pledge to go Technology-Free and Create Family Fun with A&W Root Beer".prnewswire.June 4, 2019.Archivedfrom the original on 2019-06-20.
  14. ^Spector, Joseph (September 7, 2019)."Papa Burger gets a permanent home in New York, and he looks amazing".Democrat and Chronicle.p. A11.
  15. ^Sloan, Scott."A&W brings back its official spokesbear, Rooty | Daily Business Report".Kentucky. Archived fromthe originalon December 30, 2013.Retrieved2013-12-30.
  16. ^A&W Root Beer — History & CollectablesArchivedNovember 28, 2007, at theWayback Machine
  17. ^Carolyn Walkup (1991)."A&W prexy sets pace for growth in the '90's".IndexArticles.Livonia, Michigan.
  18. ^Franchise Opportunities(Archived2015-06-11 at theWayback Machine) A & W Restaurants.

General and cited references

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