Whatever Happened To Flavor Aid Powdered Drink Mixes?

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Who remembers Kool-Aid childhoods, stirring that flavorful powder into big pitchers, adding ice, and skipping through hot summer days? Well, depending on the decade, you may actually have been drinking another brand known as Flavor Aid. Though not quite as popular, and with less longevity than its kid-friendly competitor, Flavor Aid has stories of its own — not all of them pleasant. 

First of all, Flavor Aid is still kicking around grocery stores and online, but not nearly like in its glory days. The unsweetened, powdered drink mix launched in 1932, produced by the Jel  Sert Company, a family-owned beverage and dessert manufacturer based in West Chicago, Illinois. It knows a thing or two about sweet treats, thanks to manufacturing the likes of Otter Pops, Jolly Rancher, Wyler's, and Fla-Vor-Ice. In fact, Jel Sert credits the success of Flavor Aid in the 1950s for inspiring the launch over the Fla-Vor-Ice freeze-at-home ice pops, calling it the "frozen sibling." The company also markets drink-mix collaborations with major players such as Sonic, Starburst, and Margaritaville.

Flavor Aid drink mixes sell today in single-serve packets — just mix with water, plus sugar (if desired), stir, and sip. It comes in flavors like cucumber limeade, strawberry watermelon, grape, lemonade, mango, and various aqua frescas. As a relatively affordable option, sometimes just 20 cents per individual packet, Flavor Aid is a favorite at school functions, summer camps, and tailgate parties. They're also available in pitcher-packs for two-quart servings.  

There's no way to know why Flavor Aid has slipped into near anonymity, at least compared to other well-known brands. It's not even listed prominently as a brand on the company website, though it's definitely still available for purchase. Some folks speculate that the Flavor Aid brand took a hit after the 1978 Jonestown massacre. At least 900 people, including 300 children, died in a mass suicide under the direction of cult leader Jim Jones, using a grape-flavored powdered drink mix laced with sedatives, cyanide, and tranquilizers – specifically the cyanide plus diazepam, promethazine, chloral hydrate. 

Though it was initially widely assumed the drink mix was Kool-Aid, multiple investigative and historical sources later confirmed the brand was instead Flavor Aid. Yet, the misconception lingered long enough for the callous phrase "drinking the Kool-Aid" to become part of American lingo, referring to unquestioning loyalty or obedience to a person, leading to full acceptance of that person's ideas and suggestions. 

Arguably, Kool-Aid took a far greater hit to its reputation than Flavor Aid by being associated, then and still, with the horrific tragedy. It's likely that Kool-Aid has simply become a generic term for powdered drink mixes, due to greater brand awareness. But the historical truth is still subtly disturbing. Nonetheless, Flavor Aid continues as a viable powdered drink mix brand almost 50 years after the event.