Cartoon stick figure pointing at a chalkboard with “Tang” written in large chalk letters — representing a blog post about the TANG word mark trademark registration.

Trademark: Tang

First Used: 1957

Registered: 1996

Current Owner: INTERCONTINENTAL GREAT BRANDS LLC (Mondelēz International) [1]

Trademark Type: traditional trademark; word mark

Primarily Associated With: soft drinks and powders, syrups and concentrates used in the preparation of soft drinks [2]

Generic Phrase: powdered beverage, as in TANG® Brand powdered beverage

Brief (and likely incomplete) History [3]:

TANG® powdered beverage was developed in 1957 at General Foods during a period when companies were experimenting heavily with convenient, shelf-stable foods. Originally called “Tang Flavor Crystals,” the powdered, vitamin-fortified drink mix was designed to mimic orange juice with nothing more than a spoonful of powder and a glass of water. The product reached grocery store shelves in 1959 and was marketed as a breakfast drink rich in vitamin C that “you don’t squeeze, unfreeze, or refrigerate.” Despite the futuristic pitch, early sales were only modest as consumers were slow to grow on the idea of powdered orange drinks.

The brand’s fortunes changed in the early 1960s when NASA adopted powdered beverages for use in space missions. Because liquids behave differently in zero gravity, astronauts could not simply pour a drink into a cup. Instead, NASA engineers developed a system where water was injected into a sealed pouch of powder with a needle, the pouch was shaken, and the drink was consumed through a straw. The product flown on missions was labeled simply as “orange drink,” but the association with astronauts captured the public imagination. General Foods quickly leaned into the space-age connection in its marketing, and Tang became widely known as the drink of astronauts.

In fact, the connection with Tang and NASA became so intertwined that even The Simpson’s chimed in. In the 1994 Season 5, Episode 15 “Deep Space Homer,” Homer took a break from his famous “D’Oh!” catchphrase to keep asking "how come I can't get no Tang around here?" Real life astronaut Buzz Aldrin disagreed however. He confirmed that crews did drink Tang powdered beverage in space, though his review of the flavor was less enthusiastic: “Tang sucks.”

What do Tang and other iconic brands like (quick-set) Jell-O® [4], Cool Whip® [5], and Pop Rocks® [6] have in common? They were all invented by the same person: William A. Mitchell. Mitchell was a prolific food scientist who is credited as an inventor on over 70 food-related patents. His career first kicked off with the creation of a mass-produced tapioca substitute that fueled soldiers during World War II, before then moving to General Foods where he focused on consumer foods. Known for his ingenuity, his long career as a research chemist coincided with America's midcentury fascination with convenience foods, making him a key figure in the history of modern food science.