FLAVOR: A taste of the South

Employee T.J. Smith pours the secret flavoring ingredient into the mixing vat. A 5-gallon pail of grape concentrate makes enough Grapette to fill 30 swimming pools.

Employee T.J. Smith pours the secret flavoring ingredient into the mixing vat. A 5-gallon pail of grape concentrate makes enough Grapette to fill 30 swimming pools.

Thursday, October 21, 2010

— Southern baby boomers were raised with the fizzy grape soda known as Grapette tingling their taste buds. Those fans who continue to pine away for the beverage might be surprised that the classic drink of their childhood is back and is as close as the nearest Walmart store.

First produced and created in 1939 by Benjamin “Tyndale” Fooks, Grapette was a best-selling beverage until the late ’60s, when Fooks sold the name to a competitor. Because in 1942 an Arkansas businessman, R. Paul May, persuaded Fooks to develop Grapette in Latin American countries, thus establishing a separate company, Grapette International; the familiar name was never completely retired, but for more than a generation, Americans had to do without the soft drink.

Since 1993, however, Grapette has made a comeback, at the request of Sam Walton. In 2000, Grapette International bought back the name, and the sugary grape sensation is once again an Arkansas treasure now produced in Malvern.

David Rice, director of marketing and the grandson of Fooks, is proud of his family’s story and the resurgence of the drink. His brother Paul Rice and brother-in-law Ed King co-own the business, and all the children have put in time working at the manufacturing plant.

“My father, Brooks Rice, was instrumental in establishing the private label with Wal-Mart,” David Rice said, “and that has made all the difference.”

In addition to the grape-flavored drink, Orangette is also sold exclusively at Walmart stores, and both drinks remain true to their original formulas, Rice said.

On the company’s relationship with Wal-Mart Stores Inc., Rice said, “we call it a triple win. Wal-Mart sees the benefit of having the brand on their shelves rather than a generic brand. We win because we have built back a business which employs the good people in our community, and customers ultimately win because they can purchase the product at such a good cost.”

Because of Wal-Mart’s huge customer base and sheer number of stores in every state, Grapette stands as one of the best-selling grape and soda drinks. “We’d never have that kind of distribution if it weren’t for Wal-Mart. It works well for us,” he said.

Such a devotion to the purple drink is no surprise to Rice, who collects nostalgic remarks from fans on the company’s website.

The core of what the company does, Rice said of the 45,000-square-foot facility, is preparing liquid flavor concentrate for bottlers to mix, which results in cheaper shipments. In addition to supplying Walmart stores, the company provides convenience stores, cafeterias and restaurants with flavors for their products. The company not only makes bases for drinks, but for ice cream and yogurt as well.

“The ice cream and yogurt areas are really continuing to grow,” Rice said. “We literally have hundreds of flavors in our flavor profile. Our flavor division has created some unique flavors, especially for our international customers. In fact, in our freezer right now we have some mango frozen yogurt for testing.”

Twenty employees are constantly making up batches, as well as checking, tasting and cleaning up for the next run. Research and development are a large part of the setup.

“Taste, aroma, appearance and technical aspects of each batch are collected and studied to ensure quality,” Rice said. “The lab is used for quality assessment and research and development.”

Don’t even ask for the Grapette recipe, however. Keeping the recipe secret is what enabled the company to resurge. Nobody could replicate the taste, said Rice, who has his own childhood memories of the drink.

“My grandfather passed away when I was young, but my grandmother always kept the bottles in her house, even during the time when it wasn’t readily available,” he said. “I think it runs in my blood.”

Culinary experts have taken note of the company, which survived because of Grapette’s unforgettable taste. Makers of the Food Network show Unwrapped ran a segment on the history of the drink and its comeback on the American market.

Fooks’ desire to create what Rice calls “the grapiest grape ever invented” succeeded. In fact, the drink’s loyal fan base accounted for the rise of Grapette to the seventh-best-selling soft drink in the U.S. by the mid-1950s. With a natural knack for marketing, Fooks bottled the purple nectar in 6-ounce clear glass so that the miniature size would stand apart from the typical 12-ounce varieties and the color would show.

Another Arkansas treasure, esteemed author Donald Harington, was one of those fans. After a visit from friend Archie Schaffer, a Tyson Foods executive, when Schaffer offered him a Grapette to pour over his ice, Harington penned a personal note to the Rices: “I’ve been a Grapette fan practically from the day I was born. There has always been a unique grapey quality to it. Here’s to Grapette. May it live forever.”

And that should make us all foam at the mouth (with purple fizz).

For more information about Grapette International Inc., visit www.grapette.com.