This man’s family moved to southwest Nebraska durning the late 1800s and early 1900s, where he experimented with homemade concoctions in his mother’s kitchen. His father opened up a General Store in Hendley, Nebraska where this man became entranced with a new dessert mix introduced to him by a childhood friend (and future wife). The powdered dessert came in six delicious flavors and was called Jell-O®. It was at this it time the inventor sent away for a kit called "How to Become a Manufacturer." During the following years, He graduated from high school, published a weekly newspaper, did job printing, served as postmaster and set up a mail order business to market the numerous products he had invented.
In 1918, this man married his childhood sweetheart, and developed "Nix-O-Tine", a remedy to kick the tobacco habit. By 1920, the demand for this and other products was so great, the couple moved to Hastings, NE because of better rail service for shipping purposes. Another product that was proving to be popular was a concentrated drink mix called Fruit Smack. Fruit Smack, like Jell-O®, came in six delicious flavors. The four-ounce bottle made enough for a family at an affordable price. Shipping the bottles proved to be costly and breakage was becoming a problem as well. In 1927, a method of removing the liquid from Fruit Smack was developed so the remaining powder could be re-packaged in envelopes under a new name to be called Kool-Ade. (Later the spelling was changed to Kool-Aid)
The product sold for $ .10 a packet and was first sold to wholesale grocery, candy and other markets by mail order in six flavors; strawberry, cherry, lemon-lime, grape, orange and raspberry. In 1929, Kool-Aid® was distributed nation-wide to grocery stores by food brokers.
By 1931, the demand for Kool-Aid® was so strong, other items were dropped so the company could concentrate solely on Kool-Aid®. The entire production was moved to Chicago for more efficient distribution, to be closer to supplies and to be able to expand even further if necessary.
During the Great Depression, the price was cut in half to just $ .05 a packet. Kool-Aid® stands ran by young entrepreneurs sprung up across the country. While the youngsters consumed most of the profits, it was something they enjoyed. After the war, the demand for Kool-Aid® was so great that the factory had to expand and by 1950, 300 production workers produced nearly a million packets of Kool-Aid® each day.
In 1953 the couple sold Kool-Aid® to General Foods, who introduced the popular Smiling Face Pitcher in print advertisements. Root Beer and Lemonade flavors were added to the original six flavors in 1955 and pre-sweetened Kool-Aid® was developed in 1964 and redeveloped in 1970. Kraft Foods acquired General Foods and became the new owners of Kool-Aid®.
You are looking for the name of this man, whose internationally known product we all enjoy.
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