Passiona is an Australian passionfruit-flavoured soft drink currently manufactured by Schweppes Australia and originally Cottee's.[1]

Passiona
TypeSoft drink
ManufacturerSchweppes Australia
Country of origin Australia
Introduced1925; 99 years ago (1925)

History

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Originally developed as a cordial by Lismore dairy farmer Spencer Cottee during the 1920s to avoid wasting excess passionfruit on his farm, when carbonated Passiona became a foundation product of the Cottee's range.[2] Passiona was first manufactured in 1924, and described in writing in an address to the Mullumbimby Chamber of Commerce by Spencer Cottee 1925.[3] In 1926, a factory was set up in Sydney, and in 1927 the drink was marketed to the public.[4]

Newspaper reports from the 1930s mention Australians taking the drink with them overseas to Canada and Jerusalem. In 1934, Cottees Passiona Ltd reported a gross profit of £609.[citation needed]

Cottee granted licences to produce the drink to a number of now defunct Australian bottlers, including Geo. Hall & Sons in South Australia and Bowral Bottlers in the NSW Southern Highlands.[5] The trademark has also been used by Cottee's jelly crystal range.

Ingredients

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The passionfruit pulp was originally supplied from not only Australian mainland growers, but later also a Norfolk Island cooperative.[6] Cottee's then established plants in New Guinea in the highlands at Goroka and Mt. Hagen.[7]

References

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  1. ^ "Cottee's Story - A Journey From Passiona To Cordial And Beyond". cottees.com.au. Retrieved 4 January 2016.
  2. ^ "Australian food history timeline - Passiona first developed". Australian food history timeline. Retrieved 4 January 2016.
  3. ^ 'Passion Fruit Culture', The Brisbane Courier newspaper, 17 September 1925
  4. ^ 'A New Beverage. Advent of Passiona', the Brisbane Courier newspaper, 21 January 1927
  5. ^ Bill Clarkson (1997) The Pioneers Archived 15 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine, Chapter One, pg 4, Australian Soft Drink History, www.ozbevnet.com
  6. ^ "Historic passionfruit industry".
  7. ^ Tariff Revision: Tariff Board's Report On PassionFruit Juice And Passionfruit Pulp, 13 March 1964, The Parliament Of The Commonwealth Of Australia [1]
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