Shasta

Shasta began as "The Shasta Mineral Springs Company" at the base of Mt. Shasta, California, in 1889. In 1928, the name was changed to "The Shasta Water Company". It produced bottled mineral water from Shasta Springs in Northern California. The water was poured into glass-lined railroad cars and shipped off for local bottling.

In 1931, Shasta produced its first soft drink, a ginger ale; until the 1950s, the company's products were mainly alcoholic drink mixers: ginger ale, mineral water and club soda.

Shasta introduced new marketing strategies in the 1950s, which became industry standards: the packaging of soft drinks in cans, the introduction of low-calorie (i.e., “diet”) soft drinks, and the direct distribution of bottles and cans to grocers through wholesale channels.

By the 1960s, Shasta sodas and mixers were well-known in most of the western United States and parts of the Southwest. In 1966, Shasta was purchased by Consolidated Foods (later known as Sara Lee) and was renamed "Shasta Beverages". In 1985, the company was acquired by the National Beverage Corp., which also owns the similarly marketed Faygo value-priced line of soft drinks.

Shasta currently produces 34 varieties of soft drinks and mixers for mixing alcoholic drinks, including:

Discontinued flavors

These are the soft drink flavors that have been discontinued by Shasta Beverages, including a line of flavors targeting Hispanic consumers(‡) that was introduced in 2007.

In 1993, Shasta Beverages offered flavors such as Mario Punch and Princess Toadstool Cherry, which were produced in 8-ounce cans and marketed to children.

From 2003 to 2006, Shasta Beverages sold soft drinks called "Shasta Shortz" that were also marketed to children. Shasta Shortz products were produced in 8-ounce cans and had sweeter, more candy-like flavors, including Bubble Gum, Camo Orange Creme, Chillin' Cherry Punch, Cotton Candy, Rah-Rah Root Beer, and Red Grape Stain.