The Birthplace of Kool-Aid

Kool-Aid was invented in Hastings, Nebraska in 1927 by Edwin Perkins, who had been running a mail-order business selling household products from his mother's kitchen. Perkins developed the powdered drink mix as a cheaper and easier-to-ship alternative to a liquid concentrate he had been selling called Fruit Smack. He marketed it aggressively during the Great Depression by pricing it at ten cents for enough powder to make two quarts, making it one of the few beverages families could afford. Nebraska still celebrates its Kool-Aid heritage with an annual festival in Hastings every August.

Source: Nebraska State Historical Society