Coca-Cola couldn't sell Coke in Nazi Germany — so it invented Fanta from scraps

In 1940, Coca-Cola's German subsidiary faced an impossible situation. The US trade embargo and British naval blockade had cut off the supply of Coca-Cola syrup from Atlanta. The plant in Essen could not make Coke. Max Keith, the head of Coca-Cola Deutschland (Coca-Cola GmbH), was told to keep the factory running with whatever he had.

Keith gathered his team and told them to use their imagination — 'Fantasie' in German. Salesman Joe Knipp retorted 'Fanta!' and the name stuck. The original Fanta was made from 'leftovers of leftovers': sugar beet, whey (a dairy byproduct), and apple pomace (the pulp left after pressing cider). The Dutch version used elderberries. It was a drink made from scraps, invented because the alternative was shutting down the factory.

By 1943, three million cases of Fanta had been sold in Germany. After the war, the Coca-Cola Company regained control of the German plant, the formula, and the trademark. They discontinued Fanta in 1949, seeing it as a wartime compromise. The brand seemed dead.

In 1955, a local bottler in Naples, Italy — SNIBEG — developed a new orange-flavored Fanta using locally sourced oranges. It was a hit. Coca-Cola bought the brand outright in 1960 and began distributing it worldwide. Today, Fanta is sold in over 200 flavors across 190 countries, generating billions in annual revenue. A drink invented from scraps in a war zone had become Coca-Cola's second global brand.