Why is there no Fanta in the Philippines? When you travel to the Philippines you might notice that there is Coke, Sprite and an orange soda in a bottle that is distinctly like Fanta. It is though called Royal.
What though is Royal? Initially I thought that it had been simply renamed because perhaps Fanta meant something funny in the Philippines. This has actually happened in other countries with Fanta also having a different name in Sri Lanka. In case you are wondering Fanta is called Portello, but that is a different story for a different time.
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What is Royal?
Much like Jolibee occurring in the Philippines before McDonalds, or KFC, Royal predates Fanta, at least within the Philippines. So, what is the Royal Orange Soda story?
Initially invented in 1922 as the Royal Tru brand, it was the first non-alcoholic drink made by the San Miguel Brewery. This drink was known as Royal Tru-Orange and thus massively predates the Nazi invented drink that is Fanta.
In 1927 San Miguel became the Philippine bottlers for Coca-Cola and thus from the get go the drink has been associated with Coke. In 1981 San Miguel span off its soft drink business in company that was jointly owned by Coca-Cola known as the Coca-Cola Bottlers Philippines, Inc. (CCBPI). This unified Royal into the Core family, thus creating the question of the day Royal vs Fanta, or Fanta vs Royal.
Click the link to check out our very own #fantaquest
What is Fanta?
Perhaps an equally important question is what is Fanta? Fanta did not exist until the 2nd World War when Nazi Germany – yes the Hitler guys could not get their Coca-Cola syrup. This led to manager and businessman Max Keith inventing Fanta as a way to get around this.
Initially he used pretty much any rank fruit that he could get his hands on, rather than the orange that we all know and love today. And it turns out that them Nazis, I mean Germans loved the stuff, so production was refined, giving us the Orange taste and the brand was seriously expanded. And that is how we have the second most important Coke product today.
It was though alas too late in the Philippines with the Orange soda market dominated by the San Miguel company’s offerings. And as for the name Fanta? It was coined from a mind-melting session where Keith considered “Fantasie in German”, which led to a Joe Knipp saying “Fanta”.
Royal vs Fanta
So, Royal vs Fanta, Fanta vs Royal, are the same, are they different and which one is better? The sad reality now and probably at least since 1981 is that the drinks are one and the same. Royal is for all intents Fanta and taste wise seems to be using the same formula.
This was not always the case though with those in the know saying it was more fruity and sweet than its Fanta cousin. Interestingly though and almost my final point on the Royal vs Fanta question is that Filipinos generally have not even heard of Fanta, which can be quite surreal.
Can you buy Fanta in the Philippines?
Yes you most certainly can, with the people of the Philippines not actually realizing that they are actually the same drink. In this respects just buying locally means that you are getting a Fanta if not by name by default. This is much like Hungry Jacks.
If though you require actual Fanta in the Philippines, or the various different flavors of Fanta in the Philippines then you have a few options. Many supermarkets have foreign goods, such as Fanta. This though is not always guaranteed. There are though many “foreign stores” that cater to expats, many of which have a full range of Fanta products. And of course it is 2024, so at worst case pretty much everything cam always be found on the Interwebz.
You can read about YPT’s Philippines Tours here, as well as join us for some sparkling orange stuff in country.