Passiona is an Australian passionfruit-flavoured soft drink currently manufactured by Asahi Beverages (formerly Schweppes Australia) and originally Cottee's.
History
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.
Passiona was first manufactured in 1924, and described in writing in an address to the
Mullumbimby Chamber of Commerce by Spencer Cottee 1925.
['Passion Fruit Culture', The Brisbane Courier newspaper, 17 September 1925] In 1926, a factory was set up in Sydney, and in 1927 the drink was marketed to the public.
['A New Beverage. Advent of Passiona', the Brisbane Courier newspaper, 21 January 1927]
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.
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.[Bill Clarkson (1997) The Pioneers , Chapter One, pg 4, Australian Soft Drink History, www.ozbevnet.com] The trademark has also been used by Cottee's jelly crystal range.
Ingredients
The passionfruit pulp was originally supplied from not only Australian mainland growers, but later also a Norfolk Island cooperative.
Cottee's then established plants in New Guinea in the highlands at Goroka and Mt. Hagen.
[Tariff Revision: Tariff Board's Report On PassionFruit Juice And Passionfruit Pulp, 13 March 1964, The Parliament Of The Commonwealth Of Australia [2]]
External links
