Why This Vintage Canned Chocolate Beverage Only Exists In One Region Of The World

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Most people immediately picture the hot, bourbon-centered alcoholic beverage when they hear the word "Toddy." Others, especially those well-versed in the Latin American sweet treat scene, are immediately taken back to their childhood memories of enjoying chocolate milk with a filling dinner. A man named James William Rudhard was the genius behind this iconic, canned chocolate beverage: Toddy chocolate.

Toddy easily took North America by storm and continued to expand via franchising; a Spaniard named Pedro Erasmo Santiago, who worked under Rudhard, was instrumental in Toddy's success in the Latin American markets. With a marketing strategy focused on the nutritional benefits and ease of preparation of this beverage, Toddy became a household fixture in countries across the region.

Toddy was intended to be enjoyable regardless of the weather and consequently holds a special place in the hearts of Venezuelans, in particular, as both a refreshing beverage to cool down in the heat and a sweet treat enjoyable even during colder weather. While Toddy was originally packaged in red aluminum cans or glass, it now can be found in a plastic container or bag-like packaging. 

Similarly to how a war made Spam popular, James William Rudhard identified a rising need for instant food in the midst of World War I. After the war, he returned home to Buffalo, New York and began experimenting with malted beverages in 1919. Rudhard's mission was to create nutritious, drinkable food. Settling on chocolate and milk as ideal components to this beverage, Rudhard created Toddy chocolate just a few years later. 

Toddy was approved to enter South American Markets in 1933 by the Puerto Rican government. Seven years later, in 1940, Toddy was purchased by La Venezuela Trading company. Venezuelan companies managed this sweet beverage until 2001, at which point it was sold to PepsiCo Venezuela The company continues to manufacture this beloved drink today.

The Toddy empire was once wide-reaching. Marketed and sold from Portugal to Argentina, this beverage was enjoyed by countless people across the world, including patrons of American drive-in theaters during the 1960s. Though the origins of Toddy were associated with the United States, you may have a hard time finding it in-person (though it is available for purchase on Amazon). While it's still popular in South America, the most likely reason for its U.S. scarcity is that other chocolate milk products, such as Nestlé's Nesquik, pushed Toddy out of the chocolate milk market.