Snapple, Education and Nutrition

Snapple, Education and Nutrition

        Imagine a mother and child walking through a supermarket. They begin to head down the bottled drink aisle, past shelves of water, juice and sodas. The child is looking at all of the different boxes with colorful logos and pictures. All of the sudden, the child stops and starts telling their mother “Mom! Can we get some water? Please! Please!” Of course the mother would say yes to a question like this, but it is not usually something that would happen. The child would most likely begin by saying “Mom! Can we get some soda? Please! Please!” The mother may say no, but some say yes because it is something that their child likes, not worrying about what is in it. Now, the mothers who do say no to the soda, may say yes to something like Snapple. Mothers will be happier with giving their children something they like that is also a healthier alternative. Although, Snapple may not be as healthy as people think. Some believe that if kids are going to drink something, Snapple is better than soda; others believe that Snapple should not even be given as an alternative because it is still mostly a sugar water. Mothers that know what is in Snapple may consider saying no to their child for this too. The question is whether or not the mother will let the child have which beverage and what it will do to their health. The main question will be: Is Snapple a healthy enough alternative to soda or not?

        Snapple started out as a part time business in the 1970s and grew in the 1980s when they introduced a new iced tea product. It was started by Arnold Greenburg, Leonard Marsh, and Hyman Golden in 1972. Their company was called Unadulterated Food Products and bought the name of Snapple after introducing a carbonated apple juice in 1978. Unadulterated Foods began to grow as an all natural juice business. They began a new process of bottling their teas while they were hot and the sales grew so much the company could not keep up. To be able to catch up they bought a second bottling plant and sales doubled in one year. In 1992, the owners sold 70 percent of their company for 45 million dollars and Snapple began competing against the carbonated soft drink market. With a new distribution system, Snapple was distributed nationwide and began advertising even more throughout the 1990s. In 1994 Snapple moved to a bigger headquarters and was being distributed to Canada, Greece, Mexico, United Kingdom, Norway and Hong Kong and was trying to continue to expand to Australia, Singapore and the Phillipines. Snapple was being considered the fastest growing beverage company worldwide. (“Snapple Beverage…”)

        Snapple made a deal with New York City to gain more publicity and to be known as a healthy alternative to children. The vending and marketing deal is five years long. It will bring in cash of $106 million for New York City and also a marketing value of $60 million. This deal will let Snapple be the only product in one thousand two hundred of the New York City schools’ vending machines. Snapple will support the schools and their athletic programs through vending machine sales and sponsorships. Snapple will also become New York City’s official vending machine drink outside of schools also. Because of this, Snapple will promote New York City through its campaigns. This deal will allow the educators of New York City’s schools to focus solely on the children’s education and not have to worry about problems with business. Now the Department of Education (DOE) will be handling the business within the school including the vending machines. The drinks that will be put in the vending machine will be spring water and one hundred percent juice, bottled and made by the Snapple corporation. The flavors of juice will be Green Apple, Orange Mango, Grape and Fruit Punch. The profit from selling these Snapple products will be used for uniforms and equipment, creating awareness programs, creating events that encourage physical education, and upgrading playgrounds and sports facilities in schools. The juices in the vending machines are lowered eighteen percent from other fruit juices, making them a dollar a piece per juice or water bottle. Snapple will pay for all the maintenance and operation of all vending machines in New York City. Snapple will spend $60 million directed towards the promotion of its drinks and of New York City. (Bótas, Paulo)

        Because Snapple is being sold in most of New York City, Snapple’s agreement also says that since New York City is advertising Snapple, Snapple will advertise New York City. An example of this advertising would be that there is a commercial where the people in New York City tell the viewers of the commercial about the Snapple product. They have different types of people in the commercial which is supposed to send a message that Snapple is a product for anyone. A business woman in the video talks about the ‘pop’ that happens when you open a Snapple bottle and how she loves that sound. This gives a sense of familiarity between Snapple and New Yorkers to show how much Snapple is loved in the city. The message given off from the whole commercial is that Snapple is a loved and well known product consumed by the people of New York City. The commercial advertises New York City while also advertising Snapple which falls into the agreement that Snapple has with the city. (“Hey, America”)

        Obesity is a huge problem in the U.S. these days. “…one global estimate finds that in 2010, 43 million preschool children were overweight or obese…” and that “…obesity rates have been steadily rising in preschoolers since the 1990s” (“Adult Obesity”).  Adult obesity is also a problem and is expected to grow in the United States. Some people believe that there is good news to the obesity problem. In the United States the obesity levels have stayed the same in the past years, although, there still are about a third of the U.S. that are obese. Even though the growth rate has decreased, there still are way too many people in the United States that are obese. “If U.S. trends continue unabated, by 2030, estimates predict that roughly half of all men and women will be obese” (“Adult Obesity”). This is an unacceptable number. Even a third is an unacceptable number of United States citizens that should be obese. Obesity is an issue that should not be taken lightly.

        Obesity is one of the problems in the United States that needs to be fixed soon. The fact that it is also such a large problem in schools is that there are 43 million preschoolers that are obese. This starts children off at a very young age to think that these eating habits that are making them overweight are okay. Although Snapple is considered a healthy alternative to soda in the United States, it is still an unhealthy drink and should not be in the vending machines of schools.

        “An 11.5-ounce container of the new Snapple has 160 or 170 calories and the equivalent of about 10 teaspoons of sugar, 40 or 41 grams. A 12-ounce Coca-Cola has 140 calories and 39 grams of sugar” (Burros, Marian).  Burros says this in his article “The Snapple Deal: How Sweet It Is” where he tells readers all about the true nutritional facts of Snapple. Snapple may have created four new juice drinks, but besides the few vitamins added to the orange and grapefruit versions, there is nothing else healthy about this drink. Burros says “Most people think of juice as wholesome, healthy, and certainly harmless, and some juices -- particularly orange and grapefruit -- have a fair number of vitamins and nutrients. But other than the three vitamins and one mineral that have been added to Snapple juice blends, critics say there is little nutritional difference between them and non-caffeinated sodas.” New York encourages this unhealthy drink in one thousand two hundred schools in the city. Parents believe this is a good thing and will be better for their kids in the long run. This could actually be just as bad as any soft drink. Sugar is very unhealthy for anyone, especially kids. Melody Causewell says “Higher consumption of sugar-sweetened drinks and sugary snacks are related to childhood obesity.” This is just another reason why Snapple does not need to be in any vending machines in schools. When consuming sugar, it can make a person feel hungry more often because sugar burns off fast. Schools are supposed to promote nutrition and should not have something in their vending machines that can increase child obesity. Causewell also says “In some children, difficulty processing sugar may trigger depressive symptoms.” These symptoms include fatigue, sadness and hopelessness. The symptoms are caused when children cannot absorb carbohydrates into their system. Sugar is one of these carbohydrates that is not easily absorbed. When these children feel hopeless, school and education can basically feel like a pointless endeavor.