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Family-owned firm continues with returnable glass bottles.

Twig's Beverage is a soft drinks producer based in Wisconsin, USA. Founded in 1951, the business has been passed down through three generations.

Twig's primary product is Sun Drop, a citrus-flavoured soft drink.

One of its most distinctive features is its continued use of returnable glass bottles. Customers pay a deposit of $20 per case of 24 bottles, which they reclaim upon return.

Twig's is one of very few soft drinks producers to still use real sugar rather than high fructose corn syrup.

The Sun Drop brand itself is owned by US drinks giant Keurig Dr Pepper, but Twig's produces and sells it under a licence. It cannot sell it outside the agreed geographical area.

Twig’s is seeking to expand sales of its own-branded fruit sodas across the wider Midwest region. As a family-owned business, decisions can be made collaboratively and swiftly, without the bureaucracy of a large corporate structure.

The business faces ongoing challenges, particularly the fluctuating cost of ingredients such as sugar.