Royal Tru

Royal Tru

Type	Soft drink
Manufacturer	Coca-Cola Bottlers Philippines, Inc.
Country of origin	Philippines
Introduced	1922
Variants	Royal Tru-Orange Royal Tru-Lemon Royal Tru-Dalandan* Royal Tru-Grape Royal Tru-Orange Light* Royal Tru-Strawberry* *(discontinued)
Related products	Fanta

Royal Tru (often referred to simply as Royal) is a carbonated fruit-flavored soft drink brand owned by The Coca-Cola Company that is only available in the Philippines. The brand was introduced in 1922 by the original San Miguel Brewery. Since being acquired by Coca-Cola's Philippine unit in 2007, the brand has become the Philippine counterpart of Coca-Cola's Fanta brand.

History

A Spanish-language poster advertising beverages produced by the original San Miguel Brewery, including Royal fruit-flavored soft drinks (right), circa 1924.

The brand was first introduced in the 1922 by the original San Miguel Brewery as its first non-alcoholic, carbonated beverage. In 1927, San Miguel became the first international bottler of Coca-Cola. The brand became best associated with its orange-flavored soft drink, Royal Tru-Orange.

In 1981, San Miguel spun off its soft drink business (its Coca-Cola franchise and the manufacture of Royal beverages) to a new company known as Coca-Cola Bottlers Philippines, Inc. (CCBPI), a joint-venture with The Coca-Cola Company. The brand continued to be owned by San Miguel until 2007, when San Miguel sold its entire interest in CCBPI (including the rights to the Royal brand) to The Coca-Cola Company.

Products

Current

• Royal Tru-Orange
• Royal Tru-Grape
• Royal Tru-Lemon

Discontinued

• Royal Lem-O-Lime
• Royal Soda Water
• Royal Tonic Water
• Royal Ginger Ale
• Royal Tru-Orange Light
• Royal Tru-Dalandan
• Royal Tru-Strawberry

Marketing

File:RoyalTru1976.JPG

A Filipino (Tagalog) language advertisement of Royal Tru-Orange dating 1976

The beverage targeted teenagers as its consumers. It was available in single-serve bottles and contained orange "pulp bits" "from California Valencia oranges".

When San Miguel Corporation became one of the founding members of the Philippine Basketball Association in 1975, its basketball franchise played under the name Royal Tru-Orange from 1975 to 1980.

Royal Tru-Orange gained much attention in the late 1980s, after its logo and formulation (without the orange pulp bits) were changed, through an advertising campaign that starred teen model RJ Ledesma playing the role of Joey. The first television advertisement in the series, wherein Joey was being egged on by friends to introduce himself to a girl named Jenny, was directed by noted film director Lino Brocka.

Slogans

• "Pag-ibig kong Tunay!" ("My Tru Love"!)
• "Royal, natural!" ("Royal, naturally"!)
• "Ito ang gusto ko!" ("This is my choice!")
• "Ilabas ang kulit!" ("Bring out the "kulit" (fun energy)!")

Controversy

Royal Tru-Orange was one of 300 products of the Philippines barred by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration from entering the United States due to "failure to meet its requirements."