Crystal Light

Crystal Light

Glass of Crystal light lemonade
Product type	Drink mix
Owner	Kraft Heinz
Country	U.S.
Introduced	1982; 40 years ago (1982)
Website	crystallight.com

Crystal Light is a line of powdered beverage mixes produced by Kraft Heinz. It was first sold in 1982 to a test market and released to the public in April 1984. General Foods, a now defunct company, were the original sellers of the product, but now it is sold by Kraft Foods. It is available in a wide variety of flavors, such as lemonade, sweet tea, and fruit punch.

History[]

Test marketing and introduction[]

Crystal Light was sold in test markets beginning in 1982.^[1][2][3] As of mid-1983, it was being sold in 11 test areas.^[4] It was introduced throughout the United States in April 1984.^[5] General Foods sold $150 million of Crystal Light during the product's first year on national markets, representing 20% of all powdered drink mixes and 2/3 of all sugar-free drink mixes in the United States.^[6]

Advertisements[]

A 1985 commercial featuring Linda Evans showed her doing aerobics in a women's gym and drinking Crystal Light.^[7] Another undated commercial used a similar format, showing Evans exercising and drinking Crystal Light in a women's gym.^[8] Her final commercial, airing in 1987 or 1988, featuring her stuck in traffic in a limousine and performing a variety of difficult stunts, ultimately ending up on a boat drinking Crystal Light.^[9] Many of her print advertisements for the brand featured her in workout attire.

A 1986 commercial featuring Priscilla Presley showed her practicing karate in a dojo while drinking Crystal Light.^[10]

A 1987 commercial featuring Raquel Welch showed her singing and dancing in a blue jumpsuit and, once finished with her performance, shunning a can of Diet Coke in favor of Crystal Light.^[11]

Ingredients[]

Crystal Light is sweetened with a combination of aspartame, acesulfame potassium, Sucralose, and/or sugar depending on the specific product line and flavor.^[12] First packaged in multi-serve canisters, Crystal Light launched single-serve "On The Go" packets in 2004. In 2009, Crystal Light redesigned its multi-serve packaging. On a finished case goods basis, the new design uses 250 tons less packaging than the original.^[13] In 2010, Crystal Light launched Pure Fitness, a "naturally-sweetened" low-calorie fitness drink mix^[14] which is sweetened with sugar and Truvia, a sweetener derived from the stevia plant. It is currently sold in "On The Go" packets.^[15] In 2011, Crystal Light Pure Fitness was renamed Crystal Light Pure, and three additional flavors were introduced.^[15] In April 2012, several Crystal Light varieties were added to the line of sodamix syrups for SodaStream home soda makers.^[16]

Kraft Heinz, the parent company of Crystal Light, offers a product locator on its website to help locate flavors in a desired location. Crystal Light is sold in the U.S. and Canada.

Calories per serving have varied throughout the years; non-zero calorie flavors were once as low as 4 calories in 1990 and now, they may be as high as 15 in 2018, depending on flavor.^[17] However, it's not certain if the change is due to the use of new ingredients or if serving sizes have increased.

Products[]

All product information is based on information and products offered by Crystal Light's official website, as of January 2019.^[18]

Classics[]

^[19]

Pure[]

^[20]

References[]

External links[]

• Official website