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It's easily
identifiable by its bright colors and bold advertisements, which
often feature a group of diverse people dancing to loud, upbeat
music.
Despite never actually joining the Nazi Party himself, Keith was
willing to work with the Third Reich to keep the company afloat,
Pendergrast writes. In a statement, Coca-Cola told Business Insider
that there is no indication that Keith collaborated with the Third
Reich. Woodruff, for his part, maintained close relations with Keith
before the war. For both men, the top priority was ensuring the
prosperity of Coca-Cola.
Then the war entered a new stage. With the attack on Pearl Harbor,
the United States formally entered World War II and declared
Germany an enemy. It used the Trading With the Enemy Act of 1917
to enforce a full embargo on the Axis powers. Woodruff and Keith
were finally forced to cut ties, and Keith's constant flow of Coca-
Cola syrup was halted. Keith was effectively stranded.
Keith had chemists concoct a soda that was vaguely similar to Coke,
caffeinated and with an unidentifiable blend of tastes. But rather
than being made with the secret 7X Coke flavoring, this product was
made from the leftovers from other food industries, mostly scraps
from produce markets. This was usually fruit pulp, like apple fibers
from cider pressing and whey, the liquid byproduct of cheese
curdling. The resulting liquid was a translucent beige that more
closely resembled today's ginger ale. Keith asked his sales team to
explore their fantasies while inventing a name, and the drink was
christened...Fanta. The name was a hit.
At this time, Fanta was all he had to keep the company afloat.
Fortunately for Keith, Fanta was also all Germany had. With few
soft-drink alternatives, its popularity exploded. Its prominence
allowed it to skirt the sugar rationing, making it the sweetest drink
on the market. This made it increasingly popular as an additive in
soups and stews. Sales gradually rose as it became a household
staple.
The version of the drink we know today gradually evolved from its
rebrand, Fanta Orange, which was introduced to Italy in 1955. This
new beverage was a vibrant orange color and was produced using
local citrus ingredients, as opposed to leftover scraps. In this way,
Coca-Cola continued to make a profitable product, while distancing
itself from the associations it once had with the Third Reich. At
least, for the most part.