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Brioschi (Italian pronunciation: [briˈɔski]) is an Italian company founded in 1907 as Achille Brioschi & C. to "produce and make commerce of chemicals, liquors and similars"; in 1914 the society was quoted on the Milan stock exchange.
The company's origins date back to 1880 when Achille Antonio Brioschi (1860–1942), who had served as an apprentice at various manufacturers of chemical-pharmaceutical products and eau de Colognes, began the small-scale production of the so-called effervescente Brioschi: a powder which, when dissolved in water, produced a refreshing drink. It was not a medicine, nor was it marketed as one, although the idea for it derived from effervescent products based on magnesium citrate that had originated in the United Kingdom. The business grew and the product found various export markets of which the first was Brazil. Subsidiaries were established in the United States in 1894 and in the Swiss Canton Ticino in 1897. In 1907 the business was transformed into the company Achille Brioschi & C. The popular analgesic cachet Brioschi, based on the kalmine of Paul Métadier of Tours, was introduced in 1911; other product lines included Lysoform-based disinfectants, the Johann Maria Farina eau de Cologne, and anti-malarial drugs. In 1914 the company was quoted on the Milan stock exchange.
The company's signature product was an effervescent antacid using sodium bicarbonate as its active agents sold in a blue bottle.
An offshoot, the American company Brioschi Pharmaceuticals, LLC, continued to market the effervescent antacid in the United States but the business failed and was acquired by another company called Brioschi Pharmaceuticals International, LLC in 2010. The new owners moved the headquarters and factory from Fair Lawn, New Jersey to Syracuse, New York in 2011 in an attempt to restart the business, but filed involuntary bankruptcy in October, 2013.
The narrator of Umberto Eco's novel The Mysterious Flame of Queen Loana describes the use of Effervescente Brioschi—two distinct powders are used—to transform ordinary tap water into a home-made mineral water which reminds him of Vichy water.
References
- ^ "History" (in Italian). Brioschi Sviluppo Immobiliare. Archived from the original on March 21, 2012.
- ^ Marchese, G. P. "BRIOSCHI, Achille Antonio" (in Italian). Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani. Archived from the original on 2012-08-08. Retrieved 2011-08-05.
- ^ Niedt, Bob (September 4, 2011). "Family hopes to expand workforce by moving manufacturing, packaging of antacid Brioschi to CNY". Syracuse Post-Standard. Archived from the original on January 14, 2018. Retrieved January 13, 2018.
- "Brioschi Effervescent Antacid". NIH Daily Med. Archived from the original on 14 January 2018. Retrieved 13 January 2018.
- Warner, Mallory (January 1, 2014). "How do you cure a historic hangover?". National Museum of American History. Archived from the original on January 14, 2018. Retrieved January 13, 2018.
- Redman, Russell (1 November 2010). "Brioschi eyes comeback in antacid arena - CDR – Chain Drug Review". CDR – Chain Drug Review. Archived from the original on 14 January 2018. Retrieved 13 January 2018.
- Morley, Hugh R (May 13, 2011). "Once near death, Fair Lawn-made Brioschi is now in good health". NorthJersey.com. Archived from the original on November 29, 2014.
- "Company Bankruptcy Information for Brioschi Pharmaceuticals International, LLC". Archived from the original on 2014-11-29. Retrieved 2014-11-16.
- Umberto Eco, The Mysterious Flame of Queen Loana, trans. by Geoffrey Brock (Random House, 2006), p. 121–22.
Bibliography
- Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani, Volume 14: Branchi–Buffetti (in Italian). Rome: Istituto dell'Enciclopedia Italiana. 1972. ISBN 978-8-81200032-6.