#Root beer dum dum free#

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.'.Through eBay, A&W and Jim Belushi offered a trip to Los Angeles with a VIP pass to the 'A&W Ultimate All-American Cookout and Concert' at the House of Blues.A&W TEN, a low-calorie root beer, began appearing in American supermarkets in the spring of 2013.A&W Floats and Sunkist Floats were introduced in 2008.A&W Cream Soda and A&W Diet Cream Soda were introduced in 1986.In 2020, it was rebranded with the name A&W Zero Sugar A&W Sugar-Free was introduced in 1974, and reformulated as Diet A&W in 1987.In November 2020 Diet A&W was rebranded as A&W Zero Sugar. A&W Canada launched the new formula by declaring Free Root Beer Day, serving free root beer at all locations on July 22, 2017. In July 2017 A&W Canada reformulated its root beer, dropping high fructose corn syrup and some flavors from the recipe, substituting cane sugar, sarsaparilla root, licorice, birch bark and anise. beverages business as Keurig Dr Pepper in 2008. In October 1993 A&W Beverages was folded into Cadbury Beverages. 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. The mascot was so successful that it was eventually adopted by the American A&W chain as well. The bear and its associated jingle became the basis of a long-running Canadian advertising campaign. In the late 1970s A&W Restaurants was formed to manage restaurant franchising. In 1974, A&W introduced 'The Great Root Bear,' a mascot that served as a goodwill ambassador for the brand. After test runs in Arizona and California the products were distributed nationally, including sugar-free, low-sodium, and caffeine-free versions.

In 1971 United Brands formed a wholly owned subsidiary, A&W Distributing Co., to retail its root beer. In 1966 Hungerford was sold to the United Fruit Company, which merged with AMK Corporation in 1970 to form the United Brands Company. That year the first overseas A&W restaurant opened its doors in Guam. Hungerford Smith Company, which had produced Allen's concentrate since 1921. The first A&W Root Beer outlet in Canada opened in 1956.īy 1960 the number of A&W restaurants swelled to more than 2,000. That year Allen retired and sold the business to Nebraskan Gene Hurtz, who formed the A&W Root Beer Company. The proliferation of the automobile and the mobility it offered resulted in more than 450 A&W Root Beer stands operating by 1950. įranchises struggled with labor shortages and sugar rationing during World War II, but following the war GI loans helped, in part, the number of A&W outlets to triple. There was no common menu, architecture, or set of procedures, and some chose to also sell food. By 1933 there were more than 170 A&W franchises. Franchise owners could use the A&W name and logo and purchased concentrated root beer syrup from Allen. Īllen bought Wright out in 1924, obtained a trademark, and began selling restaurant franchises - creating one of the first restaurant chains in the United States. In 1920 Allen partnered with Frank Wright, birthing the A&W brand name. He soon opened stands in Stockton, as well as five stands in nearby Sacramento - where 'tray boys' pioneered drive-in curbside service. Allen opened a roadside root beer stand in Lodi, California in 1919, using a formula that he had purchased from a pharmacist. variant is also sold as an import drink in Southeast Asia and Italy (where A&W has restaurants), as well as in Australia, Chile and other countries. restaurant chain, is responsible for the restaurants and marketing of root beer products in Canada, with retail products bottled and distributed by the Coca-Cola Company. A&W Food Services of Canada, which is independent of both Keurig Dr Pepper and the U.S. A&W Root Beer products are distributed via various U.S. The rights to the A&W brand (except for Canada) are owned by Keurig Dr Pepper, which in turn licenses the brand to the U.S.-based A&W Restaurant chain. Originally, A&W Root Beer sold for five cents (equivalent to $0.75 in 2020). Allen partnered with Frank Wright in 1922, creating the A&W brand and inspiring a chain of A&W Restaurants founded that year. Allen and primarily available in the United States and Canada. A&W Root Beer is an American brand of root beer that was founded in 1919 by Roy W.