It’s probably your favourite drink for its zingy flavour and vibrant colour. But Fanta was not always like the drink you hold in your hand today. Almost eight decades old, Fanta is actually the second oldest soft drink in the Coca-Cola family. The orange drink that comes in more than a 100 flavours today was actually born out of a desperate need for survival!

It was the year 1940. The Second World War was on in full swing and the Allies on both sides were atloggerheads. America and Germany being on the opposite sides of the war meant a trading banon U.S. based-company Coca-Cola’s operations in Germany. It also meant that the Coca-Cola Company in Germany was in no position to import the syrup needed to produce Coca-Cola in the country. After the company’s operator in Germany, Ray Powers, died in an accident, the operations were handed to German-born Max Keith. He was entrusted with the job of comingup with another idea for a drink that would meet the standards of Coca-Cola.

But there loomed a huge challenge ahead. The new soda had to be created using the ingredients available in Germany, which at the time were mainly apple fibre and a by-product of cheese. When blended together, the mix tasted of orange and was yellow in colour.

The drink was almost a product of imagination. So Keith then held a brainstorming session where he urged his team to "use their imagination" ("Fantasie" in German), to which one of his salesmen, Joe Knipp, immediately replied "Fanta!"

Despite the trade embargo, the Coca-Cola Company in Germany managed to keep its business afloat with Fanta. In fact, word spread so far that the drink made its debut in the United States in 1960. Sales were encouraging for the next 10 years.

However, in the early 1970s, the soft drink was targeted for its artificial colour, even though the colouring was safe. Not taking any further chances, the Coca-Cola Company replaced the artificial colouring with a natural one. And the drink came to be in the form and flavor you enjoy it in today.

As they say, necessity is the mother of invention and in this case, great refreshing taste!