DCHP-3

Freshie

DCHP-2 (Oct 2012)
n. — proprietary, Food & Drink, historical

a powdered drink mix available in various fruit flavours.

Type: 1. Origin — Freshie is a Canadian-made product that was popular from the 1950s to the 1980s. Produced by Daltons Limited (see the 1980 quotation) as an alternative to Kool-Aid, it was part of the Canadian post-war childhood experience (see, e.g. the 1958 quotation). The name was filed as a trade-mark in 1949 and has been protected since (see Canadian Intellectual Property Office reference). The product as such has lost market share to carbonated drinks since the 1990s and seems to be (2016) not in production.
See also COD-2, which marks it "Cdn".

Quotations

1951
FRESHIE ... FOR A REFRESHING SUMMER DRINK ASSORTED FLAVORS
1958
The Mothers group will be in charge of the hot-dog and hamburger stand, where there will also be ice cream, pie, freshie, coffee, and tea for sale.
1980
Ken will be based in the Toronto offices of Daltons (1834) Limited and will be responsible for all sales and marketing activities for Daltons Consumer Products including maraschino cherries, glace fruits, dried fruits and coconut under the Daltons and Liberty brand names, as well as the crystal drink Freshie and Baking and Snacking Nuts, and Fruit n' Nut snacks under the Trophy label.
2003
Here's the way it used be: a kid on your block had a birthday. On or around that day, you'd head over to their house clutching a small present. Their mom would make hot dogs, mix up some Freshie and, if you were lucky, open a bag of Cheezies and dump them in a plastic mixing bowl.
2007
Also, I misjudged my market. Back in the day, there were only two types of households: Families that drank Kool-Aid-brand powdered drink, and the irregular, weirdo outfits that preferred Freshie.
2015
Ellen Helset Ferguson shares details of the festivities. We did look forward to this very special occasion every year. When it was time for our Valentines party the teacher would make lemonade (or perhaps Kool Aid, which we called Freshie) in the big stone crock that normally held water. There was a dispenser that held little cone-shaped paper cups.

References