Post by Franklin1 on Sept 11, 2008 18:58:14 GMT 10
Sometimes I'm not sure where to post stuff, so I've put this here and the Mods can shift it if they like (...or dump it 
).
The story relates to the history of Cottee's drinks, and is extracted from an obituary for Max Martin, a valued employee of the Cottee's business who died recently. The story may bring back some happy memories of your days as a child, or it may help in some way if you're looking for memorabilia for your van...
Passionfruit was so plentiful around Lismore [NSW] that Spencer Cottee Jnr made a passionfruit cordial drink with pulp scooped from the skins by hand. This was turned into a sparkling beverage by the local cordial factory in 1923. Spencer's son, Harold, later became the driving force behind the growth of the food and beverage group, with the Passiona drink a company spearhead. When supplies of passionfruit juice could not meet demand for the drink in the 1960s, Max Martin was responsible for setting up processing plants in Fiji, New Guinea and Kenya. Such was the popularity of Passiona that the Cottee's name became a houshold word and the company moved into jam making, with Martin the technical leader, known as "the Jam Maker". Jellies, peanut butter, puddings and other products bore the company trademark.
Many towns in Australia had soft drink companies in the 1950s. The Cottee's beverage division set up the first Australia-wide soft drink franchise and every major town had a Cottee's bottler turning out their carbonated flavours, such as Tango, Lime Coola and Big Boy Lemonade, with Passiona the jewel in the range. Martin played a key role in bringing the disciplines of food technology into the development and manufacturing processes.
In 1966, General Foods, based in New York, made a successful takeover bid, couched in merger terms, and the company became Cottee's General Foods. The family culture gave way to a corporate one. Martin, disenchanted, joined those leaving. After General Foods pulled out of Australia, Passiona and other drinks went to Cadbury Schweppes; the jams were sold to Heinz.
Yeah...I grew up on Passiona...still love the taste!! ;D ;D
cheers,
Al.
).The story relates to the history of Cottee's drinks, and is extracted from an obituary for Max Martin, a valued employee of the Cottee's business who died recently. The story may bring back some happy memories of your days as a child, or it may help in some way if you're looking for memorabilia for your van...
Passionfruit was so plentiful around Lismore [NSW] that Spencer Cottee Jnr made a passionfruit cordial drink with pulp scooped from the skins by hand. This was turned into a sparkling beverage by the local cordial factory in 1923. Spencer's son, Harold, later became the driving force behind the growth of the food and beverage group, with the Passiona drink a company spearhead. When supplies of passionfruit juice could not meet demand for the drink in the 1960s, Max Martin was responsible for setting up processing plants in Fiji, New Guinea and Kenya. Such was the popularity of Passiona that the Cottee's name became a houshold word and the company moved into jam making, with Martin the technical leader, known as "the Jam Maker". Jellies, peanut butter, puddings and other products bore the company trademark.
Many towns in Australia had soft drink companies in the 1950s. The Cottee's beverage division set up the first Australia-wide soft drink franchise and every major town had a Cottee's bottler turning out their carbonated flavours, such as Tango, Lime Coola and Big Boy Lemonade, with Passiona the jewel in the range. Martin played a key role in bringing the disciplines of food technology into the development and manufacturing processes.
In 1966, General Foods, based in New York, made a successful takeover bid, couched in merger terms, and the company became Cottee's General Foods. The family culture gave way to a corporate one. Martin, disenchanted, joined those leaving. After General Foods pulled out of Australia, Passiona and other drinks went to Cadbury Schweppes; the jams were sold to Heinz.
Yeah...I grew up on Passiona...still love the taste!! ;D ;D
cheers,
Al.
;D
- well I tried to track it down about ten years ago and found out Earn had passed it onto his nephew who always wanted it - the first drive was so terrifying he parked it under his house with a cover and never drove it again. The Stanleys were fast but they didn't corner or stop - only had rear mechanical brakes with all the weight of a huge boiler over the front wheels. After his nephews death it was given away to a yard handyman who happened to ask what was under the cover 
.....
