A glimpse into the history of pop in Canada
How small Canadian bottling plants aided the growth of a global industry
This Star Bottling Works Tin Litho Sign sold for $1298 at Miller & Miller Auctions.
Call them what you will: pop, soda, soft drinks, or carbonated beverages – these bubbly treats have become a staple in the Canadian diet, much to our doctors’ dismay. According to a 2015 study, Canadians consume approximately one can of pop per person, per day. It has become an expected beverage choice in almost every situation, but how did this come to be? The history of pop spans the course of three centuries and has some interesting Canadian roots.
In 1789, Jacob Schweppe began selling carbonated water, or “seltzer” in Geneva. Natural mineral waters were thought to have curative powers, inspiring early soft-drink makers like Schweppe to recreate sparkling waters in a laboratory. It wasn’t until 1835 when soda water was first bottled in North America, with pharmacy soda counters appearing soon after in the 1840s. Although the precise date is unknown, it is estimated that sweeteners were first introduced to soda water in the late 18th or early 19th century. These sweeteners provided customers with a variety of fruit-flavoured beverage options; however, the real change came in 1886 when J.S Pemberton created Coca-Cola by using a combination of the African kola nut and South American cocaine (yes, you read that right) to concoct the first version of the “Coke” we know today.
A clever and risqué Coca-Cola “mail-out” advertisement circa 1900 sold at Miller & Miller in 2017 for $426. The lower portion of the ad folds up to convert the parlour scene into the bathing scene. The backside of this ad describes the “health benefits” of Coca-Cola, a common marketing point for Coca-Cola during the turn of the century.
Canada has its own unique pop history with the establishment of many bottling companies over the years. In the 1820s, the first small carbonated bottling operations were established in Canada. These facilities produced carbonated drinks in refillable bottles which were merchandised as tonics and medicinal elixirs. Fast forward to 1929, Canada was home to 345 production plants, shipping approximately $12.3 million dollars’ worth of pop per year. As the industry grew, these plants consolidated and restructured to accommodate the volume, and by 1985 the industry had 187 plants with annual sales of approximately $1.8 billion.
Many Canadians will remember Wilson’s Ginger Ale – a Toronto-based ginger ale company owned by Charles Wilson. Wilson began bottling ginger ale and other sodas at his Sherbourne Street plant in 1875. His son Sam expanded the business in the early 20th century and ran it successfully until its old-fashioned image and low sales eventually resulted in its disappearance in 1985.
Bob Burns, a Wilson’s salesman and distributor in the 1950s, shared some interesting insider information about the Wilson’s plant. According to Burns, Wilson’s was also an authorized bottler for Pepsi. In this middle-man style arrangement, Pepsi would ship their signature syrup to Wilson’s, and Wilson’s would bottle it and sell it as Pepsi. During the war, Wilson’s had to curb production due to sugar shortages. In a strategic move, Wilson’s sourced cheap, refined chocolate bar sugar to use for their Pepsi production, and kept the high quality sugar for their own Wilson’s-branded products.
Burns was a compelling salesman, often convincing customers to choose Wilson’s Ginger Ale over Canada Dry and other competitors for its “triple-filtered Lake Ontario water” and “less sodium and carbonation than other soft drinks”. Sick Kids Hospital even preferred Wilson’s for its “healthy” properties.
Wilson’s Ginger Ale ad promoting a special deal where customers could send in four Wilson’s bottle caps along with a cheque for $8.95 to receive this pop can radio. Source: Torontist
Although the Wilson’s plant was a prominent Pepsi-bottler in Ontario, it wasn’t the first. In 1916, the Nurmi family of Sudbury, Ontario opened Finish Bottling Works on College Street. In the 1930s, they renamed the company Star Bottling Works and moved the factory to Regent Street in Sudbury. In 1935, Star Bottling Works became the first authorized bottler of Pepsi in Ontario. The Regent Street factory remained in operation until 1969 when it was moved to Lorne Street, with Lougheed’s Funeral Home taking over the Regent Street building. Star Bottling Works continued to thrive and was eventually purchased by Coca-Cola in the 1980s.
A photo of the Star Bottling Works factory during its time on Regent Street in Sudbury, Ontario.
Miller & Miller Auctions was thrilled to feature an exceptional 1930s Star Bottling Works sign in a recent auction. The sign sold for $1,298, adding a brilliant ‘pop’ of colour and touch of history to the new owner’s collection.
Story by Tess M.
Item Estimate: $800-1200
Lot Number: 296
Auction Details: Advertising & Nostalgia - April 6th, 2019. 10 am.
Live Auction Location: 59 Webster St. New Hamburg, Ontario. N3A 1W8
Sold Price: $1298
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