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| Type | Sparkling water |
|---|---|
| Manufacturer | Clearly Food & Beverage Company Ltd. |
| Country of origin | Canada |
| Introduced | December 1987 (December 1987) |
| Color | Clear |
| Flavor | Sparkling Flavoured & Non-Flavoured Spring Water |
| Website | www |
Clearly Canadian is a brand of premium sparkling waters produced by The Clearly Food & Beverage Company Ltd., of Canada. The brand was founded in 1987 in British Columbia, Canada. Outside of Canada, it is well known throughout the United States, parts of Europe and Japan.
History
Founded in 1987 by Gordon Sim, Doug Mason and others in British Columbia, Clearly Canadian is considered by many as the first premium "new age beverage" product that precipitated the multibillion-dollar market as it exists today, and has produced product every year since 1987 except for 2010 and 2011.
Clearly Canadian experienced rapid market-dominating growth throughout the 1990s alongside Snapple and Red Bull, but fell into broad corporate mismanagement beginning in 2000 and up to 2012, when it was acquired by serial entrepreneur, Robert R. Khan, under his 4NCapital Partners investment firm. Large-scale commercial production resumed shortly thereafter in Canada and was precipitated by an online crowd-sourcing campaign that pre-sold in excess of 40,000 cases. Rhett and Link, celebrity hosts of internet comedy show "Good Mythical Morning", played a major role in promoting the campaign to save the beverage of their childhood.
Timeline
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- 1987: Clearly Canadian flavoured sparkling water is introduced.
- 1993: Annual sales hit $155 million.
- 1993: Royalty agreement with Camfrey Resources is terminated for $22.9 million.
- 1994: Clearly Tea and Clearly Two beverages are test-marketed.
- 1996: Hostile acquisition pursuit of Sun-Rype Products Ltd. initiated.
- 1996: Orbitz, with free-floating gel spheres, is introduced.
- 1997: Cascade Clear Water Co. is acquired.
- 1998: Clearly Canadian O+2, Battery, and Refresher drinks are introduced.
- 2000: Packaging of flagship line is redesigned and diet flavours are added.
- 2001: Founding management exits.
- 2005: Recapitalization brings about new ownership and management.
- 2006: Company founder resigns as chairman.
- 2007: DMR Food Corporation is acquired.
- 2007: My Organic Baby is acquired.
- 2010: Successful creditor reorganization.
- 2012: 4NCapital Partners, led by Robert Khan, acquires company.
- 2013: Fan-sourced (crowd-sourcing) direct-to-consumer pre-sales campaign.
- 2015: Pre-sale campaign reached its goal of 25,000 cases pre-sold, pushing the product back into production.
- 2017: Clearly Canadian producing at national levels in both Vancouver and Montreal.
- 2021: Clearly Canadian is sold in a non-disclosed sale to private investors.
- 2023: Clearly Canadian launches Zero Sugar & Essence Unsweetened portfolios.
- 2024: Clearly Canadian launches its "Originals" in 6-pack SleekCans.
See also
References
- "Federal Corporation Information". Corporations Canada. Retrieved 2018-10-06.
- McCullough, Michael (December 1996). "Just Add Hype". Canadian Business. 69 (15): 130–132 – via ProQuest.
- "DMR Food Corporation Acquired by Clearly Canadian". Food Ingredients 1st. February 9, 2007. Retrieved December 22, 2013.
- "About Our Products". clearlycanadian.com. Clearly Food & Beverage Company Ltd. 2023.
- "13714, LLC v. Khan (4:23-cv-00960)". www.courtlistener.com. Free Law Project. 2023.