Crush[1] is a brand of carbonated soft drinks originally created as an orange soda, Orange-Crush. The brand is owned and marketed internationally by Keurig Dr Pepper, but is marketed by PepsiCo in North America. It was created in 1911, 29 years before The Coca-Cola Company's Fanta, by beverage and extract chemist Neil C. Ward. Most flavors of Crush are caffeine-free.
History
In 1911, Clayton J. Howel, president and founder of the Orange-Crush Company, partnered with Neil C. Ward and incorporated the company. Ward made the recipe for Orange Crush. Howel was not new to the soft drink business, having earlier introduced Howel's Orange Julep. Soft drinks of the time often carried the surname of the inventor along with the product name. Howel sold the rights to use his name in conjunction with his first brand; therefore, Ward was given the honors: Crush was first premiered as Ward's Orange-Crush.[2]