Kool-Aid

Nebraska designated Kool-Aid as the official state soft drink in 1998. Kool-Aid is an artificially fruit-flavored powder developed in 1927 by Edwin E. Perkins and his wife Kitty of Hastings, Nebraska (Edwin was founder and president of the Perkins Products Company). Hastings sponsors a yearly festival called Kool-Aid Days in August to honor their city's claim to fame. Kool-Aid brand is now owned by the Kraft Foods Company.

Kool-Aid's mascot and logo is Kool-Aid Man, a character with the body of a large frosty glass pitcher filled with Kool-Aid (usually cherry). He was introduced in Kool-Aid advertising shortly after General Foods acquired the brand in 1953. In Television and printed ads, Kool-Aid Man was known for bursting suddenly through walls while children were making or drinking Kool-Aid to say his catch phrase: "Oh, yeah!"

The original six Kool-Aid flavors are Raspberry, Cherry, Grape, Lemon, Orange, and Root-Beer. Today the assortment of flavors available worldwide also includes:

Apple



Berry Blue



Black Cherry



Bunch Berry



Cherry Cracker



Chocolate



Golden Nectar



Cola



Cranberry



Eerie Orange



Frutas



Frutas Vermilhas



Grape Blackberry



Great Bluedini



Grosella



Guaraná



Kolita



Lemonade



Orange Enerjooz



Grapeberry Splash



Incrediberry



Kickin-Kiwi-Lime



Lemon-Lime



Man-o-Mangoberry



Mountainberry Punch



Oh-Yeah Orange-Pineapple



Pina-Pineapple



Pink Lemonade



Pink Swimmingo



Purplesaurus Rex



Rainbow Punch



Raspberry



Roarin' Raspberry



Rock-a-dile Red



Scary Black Cherry



Scary Blackberry



Sharkleberry Fin



Lemonade Sparkle



Strawberry



Strawberry Falls Punch



Strawberry Split



Strawberry-Raspberry



Sunshine Punch



Surfin' Berry Punch



Tangerine



Tropical Punch



Watermelon



Watermelon-Cherry



Soarin' Strawberry-Lemonade



Slammin' Strawberry-Kiwi

Nebraska also recognizes milk as the state beverage, acknowledging the importance of the dairy industry to Nebraska's agricultural economy.