Fresca, Where Hast Thou Gone?
Fresca is without a doubt one of the greatest mysteries of my lifetime. When I was growing up, Fresca was a strong competitor of Sprite, Squirt and the rest. But more than that, it kind of defined its own genre among soft drinks. Probably cause it’s the only soda with enough pluck to base its flavor in grapefruit. (Although, not much pluck, because they labeled the flavor on the can as ‘citrus’.) But nonetheless, it was relevant to refrigerators across the country. Now, nothing. What happened?
Did everyone in America wake up one morning and decide Fresca was gross? (It is, so if that was the decision, I not only understand it, but support it). But I digress. See, Fresca operated in this weird, vacant space within reality. Your family never bought it. You yourself never chose it when presented with a selection. It simply wasn’t something you had on tap. But when you’d go over to your buddy’s house after school to shoot some hoops, you’d run to the fridge for some refreshment, and sure enough, there’d be tons of Fresca lining the fridge. Always. This also tended to be the friend who relied on “air-popped” popcorn when everyone knows the microwave stuff was far superior and less of a process.
And then one day, like All-4-One’s collective career, it was gone. Now, I’m not saying you can’t find it anymore. I’m just saying no one buys it. Seriously. Try finding it on a vending machine. I promise you it’s not there. It’s not even on those old, neglected vending machines by the disgusting racquetball courts at the local Bally Racquet Club that still carry the sodas of yesteryear – sodas like Dad’s Root Beer and RC Cola.
In fact, I challenge you to talk to any Fresca lover from back in the day and ask them if they still drink it. The answer will be an unequivocal no. And let’s get one thing straight: Fresca drinkers were fiends. They loved this stuff, and were as dedicated as the Venti quad no foam non-fat extra hot latte person we all know and hate. So what happened? Where did this love go wrong?
I mean, this isn’t Surge we’re talking about – a drink so sugary and bad for you that it couldn’t even fit into soda’s standards of health. Surge’s sudden downfall from glory was at least understood, if not expected. Not to mention that whole Yellow 5-testicle thing didn’t do it any favors. No, Fresca was just like any other fruity soda. It was even the official sponsor of NFL expansion teams in 1967. How’s that for a random endorsement deal? So it’d been around. It had gravitas. Nothing bad came out against it and no similar drink came out to ruin its stronghold on the grapefruit thing. It simply fell off the face of mainstream America’s tastebuds.
So obviously, I’m at a loss. And if any of you can offer me any help as to understanding this phenomenon, I’d love to hear it.
Oh, and by the way, apparently they have black cherry and peach flavors now. How is this even remotely a good idea? No one’s buying the original, and now we’re going with peach pop? Come on.
I never realized that Fresca was operating within that vacant space of reality. I was under the impression that this was just in my life. This new revelation has led me to come up with a hypothesis to your question, “where has Fresca gone?”
The answer: it is still exactly where it always was. However, we are not in our childhood anymore, and so we don’t have those friends with Fresca-stocked fridges. Now when we open his/her fridge, there’s only light beer, milk, turkey and cheese. But Fresca, throughout the passing of my (and your) generation’s childhood, has kept its position in the blind spot of America’s conscience.
It still is in the friend’s refrigerator, available as either a “hey, I haven’t had Fresca in a while” or a “well, there’s not much else” kind of decision. I think that friend’s parents buy it because its calorie-free and grapefruit sounds healthier than lemon-lime anyway.
I salute you, Fresca, for eluding definition and stereotyping for so many decades.
The Surly Birds clearly didn’t do any sort of diligent fact checking before publishing this piece. Fresca was the favorite soft drink of the NHL’s 1967 expansion teams and was slated to be the official soft drink of the NHL in 1968, but management finally stopped being butt holes and pulled out at the last minute (TWSS). Don’t believe me, check for yourself: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fresca#History
Fresca does and always will rule supreme in my house. People who come over upon entering the house request it. And let’s be clear, it is refreshing and delicious. And quite often my grocery store runs out of Fresca. We have a restaurant here that has Fresca on tap- and for that reason alone, that restaurant rocks. Fresca will make a comeback…
I concur with Erin. Fresca is the most refreshing soft drink on the market. In fact, Sierra Mist is trying to copy Fresca by now offering Sierra Mist Grapefruit! Kind of reminds me of the guys from Coke Zero stealing the secret recipe from Coke…
After a long, sweaty day in the sun, whether it be mowing the lawn or working out, I challenge everyone to mix equal parts Fresca and Orange Juice and tell me it’s not the single most refreshing drink you have ever had in your life.
I agree with all. As a non-soda drinker, I love Fresca. Fresca is absolutely superior to any non-cola.