Fanta: a staple of soda fountains everywhere in the world. It stands among giants in the industry with its iconic orange glow. Or purple…Or red…Or any other color that exists as a flavor of Fanta. However, fans often laud that versatility is a part of its appeal. That then begs the question: Who do we have to thank for this nectar of the gods? Well, you can direct that thanks to the Nazi Regime of 1940s Germany. 

The brutal battles of WWII were fought in many diverse theaters, one of such theaters being the economy. As is natural for nations at war, embargoes flew left and right in efforts to cripple rival nations’ economies and restrict access to resources. The Trading with the Enemy Act was a particularly brutal one as it called for the United States to halt all trade with the Axis Powers. As a result, the Coca-Cola syrup that was exported to the German subsidiary of Coca-Cola was unavailable, leaving Coke essentially Coke-less. Other companies floundered in the face of this embargo, but the head of Coca-Cola Germany, Max Keith, refused to.

He created a Coca-Cola fill-in from the scraps of other industries due to the embargo’s restrictions. This original drink consisted of apple fiber and whey, which were leftovers from cider and cheese production, respectively. It was a semi-transparent brown color–a far cry from what its future offspring would look like. 

Now with a new product in hand, Keith and Company just needed a new name. Unfortunately for them, that task proved particularly trying. Keith snapped, and demanded his team use their imagination. In German, imagination translates to “Fantasie” and one employee, Joe Knipp, finally had the name for their new product: Fanta. Thus, this war-time delicacy became a staple in German households throughout the war.

Thanks to the embargo, Fanta was essentially the only soda that was on the market in Germany, lending it an automatic monopoly. Coca-Cola Germany exploded in profits and thanks to Keith’s ingenuity, he convinced the Third Reich to allow him to oversee all Coca-Cola plants in Germany and in new conquered territories in order to spread Fanta beyond the confines of Nazi households. Additionally, Fanta’s popularity and status as the only soft drink in Germany allowed it to essentially ignore sugar rations. It became a staple in cooking as a fill-in for sugar in recipes, further cementing its popularity. Most of all, Fanta’s hopeful name and packaging proved to be a glimmer of hope in an otherwise desolate period of human history.

Once World War II came to an end, Fanta entered a lulling phase. Naturally, after the embargoes were lifted, Fanta’s monopoly came crumbling down. But, that war-time demand still lingered. So, Fanta was rebranded as Fanta Orange and reintroduced to the world—starting with Italy—in 1955. Instead of whey and apple fiber, Fanta now was made out of citrus, its dull brown color transformed into vibrant orange—the color that we recognize it as today. It was from this rebrand that modern Fanta was born, positioning it to become one of the soda giants dominating fountains around the world.

Nowadays, we don’t particularly think of any soda as a symbol of hope or an icon of escapism, but to Europeans throughout World War II, Fanta was that symbol. Not only that, Fanta also stands as a symbol of ingenuity—“Fantasie” as Max Keith would put it. Against all odds, all ill-will, and poor favor, Fanta survived, and brought joy in a world devoid of it. While Fanta no longer exists in such trying times, it still brings a smile to anyone’s face.

Information retrieved from Business Insider and History Cooperative.