| Extra info | On October 11, 1904, Gabriel Posada and Valerio Tobón formed the company Posada Tobón which was later shortened to Postobón (the name being a portmanteau of their last names) and started to produce soft drinks. Soon, in Medellín, Colombia; their first product, called "Cola (Kola)-Champaña", became very famous in bars, stores, social clubs, and homes. This first product was distributed in a wagon pulled by a donkey, but because of geography the company could not distribute its products throughout all cities and towns. At this stage, Posada and Tobón decided to open two factories; the first was opened in 1906 in Manizales and the second in Cali the same year. Since that time, Postobón products have appeared throughout Colombia.
Soon, the company expanded its product line with flavors such as Cerveza de Uva in 1909, Popular in 1912 (still available today!), Freskola and Espumosa in 1919. In 1917, the company launched a new product, "Agua Cristal" which is bottled water. In 1918, Postobón released a brand of carbonated water, "Bretaña." Colombiana started as a separate brand in 1921, which was later purchased along with La Leona soft drink brands and merged into Posada & Tobón in 1942. An orange-flavored soda was added to the lineup in 1950, and apple two years later. The company bottling plants also served as local franchise bottlers of Coca-Cola for many years. In 1951 the company merged its namesakes into Refrescos Postobón.
In 1968. the company acquired the Gaseosas Lux soft drink company.
The Tamarindo, Uva, and Piña flavors were originally brands created by Gaseosas Lux and subsequently added to the Postobón line.
With this last merger, Lux employee Carlos Ardila Lülle was appointed president of Postobón, adding the company to his conglomerate Ardila Lülle Organization which would grow to become one of Colombia's largest. The bottler now produces over 35 different brands and is an active sponsor of sports teams in Colombia.
In 1986 Postobón started sponsorship of the Postóbon team, a professional Colombian cycling team. This was following the successes of the first Colombian professional cycling team - Café de Colombia. In 1986 the team competed in the Tour de France. The team lasted for ten years. Since 1998 to this date, Postobón sponsors football club Atlético Nacional (replacing Leona beer). |
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