History of SKI

Compiled by Joe Henken from www.double-cola.com, various newspaper articles, personal interviews, and artifacts.

 

Year Event
 
1922 Charles D. Little with partner Joe S. Foster establishes the Good Grape Company, named for their newly developed grape soda, Good Grape.
1924 With the growth of the product, the company name changes to Seminole Flavor Company.
1953 The Seminole Flavor Company becomes the Double-Cola Company.
1956 Dr. Irvin Barrows blends 3 natural ingredients to yield a most pleasant tasting beverage:
  1) Orange juice and oils, the number one preferred citrus flavor in the world
  2) Lemon juice and oils, a long preferred flavor for soft drinks when blended with sugar and and carbonated water
  3) Caffeine, which brings these two flavors together, eliminates the harshness, and gives the quality of no after taste.
  The name SKI was selected from suggestions provided by employees of the company.  SKI was selected because it was short, catchy, and associated with an excitable, pleasant activity.  The employee that provided the name was Dot Myers, who was still  employed by the company until 2008
1958 Ski is trademarked by the Double-Cola Company
1962 Fairmont Foods, Incorporated purchases the Double-Cola Company.  Ski undergoes a change in packaging to a blue logo, with the slogans "The Perfect Beverage" and "Summertime, Springtime, Wintertime, Anytime"
1969 A change in packaging is made, using much of the original design elements with a change in colors to bright orange and yellow.
1974  Cooper-Dorland, Inc, a subsiderary of Downy, Saylor and Young purchases the Double-Cola Company from Fairmont Foods.
1979 Pop Shoppes International, a Canadian company, purchases the Double-Cola Company from Cooper-Dorland, Inc.
1980 K.J. International, Inc, a London-based company , purchases the company which becomes Double-Cola Co. -USA
1975-86 Another change in packaging is made.  New packaging is white with green and blue 's'-shaped stylized stripes and an orange "ski".
1986 Diet Ski is introduced as a line extension to the original Ski.
1996 Cherry Ski is introduced as another line extension to the orginal Ski, due largely to creative efforts of customers of Excel Bottling.
1998 The original manufacturing facility in Chattanooga, Tennessee is sold, and corporate headquarters are moved to downtown Chattanooga.  (see related article).  The facility is currently used by the Dow Chemical Company to produce Gold Bond Medicated Powder and other products.
1999 A radical packaging design is launched, using updated fonts, colors, and graphics, and the slogan "Taste the Wake."
2001 Caffeine-Free Ski is introduced as an extension to the Ski product line.
2006 SKI celebrates its 50th anniversary!