Bubble Up®

A Forgotten Trademark That Became One of America's Favorite Lemon-Lime Soft Drinks

Few soft drinks have enjoyed a journey quite like Bubble Up. Long before it became known for its crisp lemon-lime flavor and memorable advertising, the Bubble-Up name began as an ambitious new trademark registered during the early years of America's rapidly growing soft drink industry. Over the decades, the brand would survive changing ownership, fierce competition, and an evolving marketplace to become one of the country's most enduring independent soft drink names.

The story begins in 1919, when the Sweet Valley Products Company of Sandusky, Ohio, applied to register the Bubble-Up trademark for a fruit beverage. Federal trademark registration followed in 1921, a date that still appears on many vintage Bubble Up crown caps and advertising pieces. Although the original beverage itself was relatively short-lived, the trademark endured, quietly preserved while the soft drink industry continued to evolve.

Bubble Up entered its defining chapter in 1937, when LeRoy O. Schneeberger, president of the Whistle-Vess Beverage Company in St. Louis, Missouri, acquired the dormant trademark. Rather than revive the earlier drink, Schneeberger saw an opportunity to create something entirely new. He transformed Bubble Up into a sparkling lemon-lime soft drink whose bright, refreshing taste quickly earned a loyal following and gave new life to a forgotten name.

Expansion came through a growing network of independent bottlers across the United States. At a time when many successful soft drink companies relied on franchised bottlers, Bubble Up steadily built its own nationwide distribution, reaching communities large and small. By the early 1950s, the brand was being bottled in dozens of states and had begun expanding into international markets, making it one of America's most successful independently franchised lemon-lime beverages.

Just as memorable as the drink itself was its advertising. Bubble Up embraced colorful point-of-sale displays, embossed metal signs, clocks, thermometers, soda fountain pieces, and eye-catching store displays that became familiar sights throughout the country. Slogans including "A Kiss of Lemon... A Kiss of Lime," "First for Thirst," and later "Be Alive!" helped define the cheerful personality of the brand. Today, many of those original advertising pieces rank among the most sought-after collectibles in the soft drink hobby.

As Bubble Up's popularity grew, so did the attention it received from competitors. During the 1940s and again in the late 1950s, the brand became involved in a series of trademark disputes with Seven-Up over the use of the word "Up." While the legal proceedings stretched across several years, Bubble Up successfully retained its identity. Ironically, those cases also preserved an extraordinary collection of trademark records, ownership documents, and corporate history that now provides historians with some of the most valuable documentation of the brand's early years.

Another important milestone came in 1952, when the O-So Grape Company acquired Bubble Up as part of its expanding portfolio of nationally recognized soft drink brands. Operating from Peoria, Illinois, the company invested heavily in the brand's continued growth. By the late 1950s, Bubble Up was being bottled by hundreds of franchised bottlers across the United States and in several foreign countries, firmly establishing its place among America's leading independent soft drinks.