squirt

Squirt is a caffeine-free, low-sodium carbonated soft drink brand with a distinctive blend of grapefruit juices that gives it a tangy, fresh citrus taste. Squirt is the best selling carbonated grapefruit soft drink brand in the United States. The origin of Squirt can be traced back to 1938 when a man named Herb Bishop began experimenting with Citrus Club. Bishop created a new carbonated soft drink that required less fruit and sugar to produce compared to other sodas that were being made at the time. The new drink "seemed to squirt onto the tongue," so Bishop named the drink Squirt. Squirts sales grew during WWII because its low sugar content helped bottlers restricted by sugar rationing rules. By the mid 70's, Squirt was introduced internationally in Central and South America. In 1977 a company named Brooks Products purchased Squirt from Bishop. In 1983, Diet Squirt became the first soft drink in the United States to be sweetened with Nutra Sweet. Squirt joined A&W Brands in 1986, which was later purchased by Cadbury Schweppes PLC in 1993. Responsibility for manufacturing, marketing, and distribution of Squirt was assigned to Dr Pepper/Seven Up, Inc, which had been acquired by Cadbury Schweppes PLC in 1995. It still remains under the Dr Pepper/Seven Up, Inc. branch. The Squirt Brand remains highly competitive among the grapefruit and citrus-flavored brands in the United States. It has extreme competition from similar brands distributed by Coca-Cola and Pepsi-Cola.
Foote, Cone & Belding proposed a refinement in Squirt's target market and positioning which had previously been aimed at 18- 34 year olds. Through research that featured Squirt's consumption by racial/ethnic group and age relative to carbonated soft drink users, Foote, Cone & Belding recommended that Squirt target a multicultural, 18-24 year old segment in order to tap into this heavy carbonated soft drink user segment. The total sales broken down by racial/ethnic groups can be seen below. The