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Jamaican Soda
The Brands Behind Our Favourite Flavours

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Jamaican Soda | D&G Ginger BeerJamaican Soda | D&G Ginger Beer

by Venesha Johnson | Associate Writer

Jamaicans, just like many people around the world, love a nice, cold, fizzy soda. Our soda choices may seem quite limited though as there are only four major brands of soda that you can find in any supermarket, D&G, Bigga, Busta and Pepsi.

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Desnoes & Geddes (D&G)

Desnoes and Geddes Limited (D&G) manufactures Red Stripe beer, one of Jamaica's most well-known exports. It also produces malt beverages for the domestic market under the brand names Red Stripe Light, Dragon Stout, Malta (non-alcoholic), Smirnoff Ice, Guinness, and Heineken. Only a small fraction of D&G's stock is traded publicly.

The ultimate parent corporation is the British beverage giant Diageo PLC. According to its prospectus in the Gleaner, the company originally created soft drinks, or "aerated and mineral water," but it also marketed alcoholic beverages shipped in from abroad.

D&G was founded on July 31, 1918. "Kola Wine" was a significant early product. D&G was named the Jamaican bottler for Pepsi Cola in 1947. D&G began bottling Schweppes goods under license in 1960.

Ting and Old Jamaica Ginger Beer, both organically derived beverages, were introduced to the United Kingdom in 1988 and were a huge hit. D&G sold its soda pop facility to the Pepsi Cola (Jamaica) Bottling Company for an estimated $25 million in 1999, allowing it to focus on brewing. In February 2001, the company changed its name from D&G to Red Stripe Limited.

Bigga

BIGGA Soft Drink embodies all that is Jamaican. The Jamaica Drink Company, a part of The Wisynco Group Limited, created the first locally produced beverage in 1996.

Its vibrancy and colour represent the Jamaican people, and the product has frequently been associated with nationalism. These bold, bubbly, colourful and fizzy drinks come in quite a few flavours Ginger Beer, Pineapple, Fruit Punch, Cream Soda, Apple, Orange, Jamaica Kola and Grape. The sizes include 355ml, 600ml, and 2L.

Busta

While this is one of the major soda brands in Jamaica, it is not a Jamaican-owned brand. Sheikh Mohammed Jaleel founded S.M. Jaleel, located in San Fernando, Trinidad and Tobago, with a staff of twenty-five (25) people. SJM's main brand Chubby, a fizzy line of soft drinks aimed at children aged 4 to 9, was launched in 1993 in a special proprietary PET bottle with a variety of bubbly, colourful flavours.

In 1997, the Busta soft drink range was launched in PET bottles in a bright and colourful rainbow of flavours. Similar to Bigga, Busta sodas are available in a range of different flavours and sizes.

Pepsi

We all know about Pepsi for sure, it is one of the most popular carbonated drinks worldwide. Through Pepsi-Cola Jamaica Bottling Co Ltd, Jamaicans are able to have their own uniquely packaged bottle of Pepsi. Pepsi is a carbonated soft drink made and produced by PepsiCo.

It was created and debuted as Brad's Drink in 1893 before being renamed Pepsi-Cola on August 28, 1898.

The name has changed a few times throughout the years, from Pepsi in 1961 to Pepsi-Cola Made with Real Sugar in select locations of North America as of 2014. Pepsi isn’t just tasty, it aids in digestion and is known for giving a boost of energy.

Pepsi produces other popular soda brands like 7up, Ginger Beer, Ting and Mountain Dew.

Fun Facts about Jamaican soda:

  1. Jamaicans believe that a hot ginger beer soda is ideal for “bussing gas” which means to burp, releasing air from the digestive tract.
  2. Ting grapefruit soda is one of the most popular “chasers” used when drinking Jamaican rum.
  3. Chubby is the island’s appointed kiddie soda.
  4. Cream soda, a popular soda flavour, is believed to be used in performing obeah rituals, so some Jamaicans avoid drinking that flavour.
  5. There was once a major debate about which brand of sodas, between Bigga and D&G, is the best among the general population. D&G came out on top, some say it’s because of the flavour, and others say it’s because D&G originated in Jamaica.
  6. Pepsi is a “cure-all” remedy in Jamaica. Having diarrhoea, a hot Pepsi with grated nutmeg or salt will do the trick.

Favourite Jamaican Soda

  • Ginger Beer
  • Pepsi
  • Kola Champagne
  • Fruit Punch
  • Cranberry
  • Banana
  • Pineapple
  • Grapefruit

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References & Sources For Jamaican Soda

  1. Company Profile, Information, Business Description, History, Background Information on Desnoes and Geddes Limited, https://www.referenceforbusiness.com/history2/39/Desnoes-and-Geddes-Limited.html
  2. Bigga – Wisynco, https://wisynco.com/bigga-2/
  3. Our Products – SM Jaleel & Co.Ltd, http://www.smjaleel.net/products/
  4. Pepsi-Cola Jamaica Bottling Co Ltd - Beverages-Non-Alcoholic-Wholesale & Manufacturers | FindYello, https://www.findyello.com/jamaica/pepsi-cola-jamaica-bottling-co-ltd/profile/

Jamaican Soda | Written: August 16th, 2022

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