Rivella, a Popular Swiss Soft Drink

After Ovomaltine hot chocolate drink, Rivella probably is the most famous drink in Switzerland. It is almost exclusively sold in Switzerland, with some being sold in the Netherlands and Germany. It's surprising that Rivella actually sells in Germany because, in the beginning, the Germans did not like Rivella at all. In fact, it took quite an effort from the Rivella company to successfully launch the drink in Germany.

Among other things, they used clever commercials with one of Germany's most famous comedians Michael Mittermeier. In one of the spots he complains about the ambition of the Swiss to take over the world. He claims they add 'li', a very common Swiss German suffix that means 'little', to German words and places. One of the places he brings as evidence is BERLIN, the German capital. If you remove the 'li', what do you get? BERN, the capital of Switzerland! It's clever use of typical elements of the Swiss German language. Have a look at the commercial:

What is Rivella?

Now, we know how Rivella became popular in Germany. But what exactly is Rivella? Rivella was invented by Robert Barth and is a Swiss soft drink that in addition to the traditional sugary and flavory ingredients includes milk serum. The taste is quite unique and people who try it for the first time don't always like it.

Today, Rivella comes in four varieties:

Rivella Rot (Red Rivella) which is the original
Rivella Blau (Blue Rivella) which is the diet version
Rivella Grün (Green Rivella) which is the green tea version
Rivella Gelb (Yellow Rivella) which is made with soy instead of milk serum, suitable for vegans as well!

My personal favorite is the original Rivella Rot. I have never tried yellow Rivella and am not so fond of blue and green. What is your favorite Rivella?

Rivella Bottles

Source: rivella.ch

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