Wednesday, March 27, 2019

214. Drinking Vitality: CHOCO-VIM by Magnolia Dairy Products, 1957

1957 MAGNOLIA CHOCO-VIM "Healthful! Refreshing!" Print Ad,


To the baby boomers growing up in the late 50s and 60s, a bottle of CHOCO-VIM was a delicious chocolate drink that was always a welcome treat. Introduced in 1957, CHOCO-VIM was manufactured by Magnolia Dairy Products of the San Miguel Brewery.
 
MAGNOLIA CHOCO-VIM EARLY BOTTLES, 1957-1960s
At only 15 centavos per bottle, CHOCO-VIM could be served hot or cold, and the energizing, chocolate flavored-drink became an instant favorite in no time all. It was first sold in tall, softdrink-like bottles, but after a while, shifted to a shorter, squatter bottles.

CHOCO-VIM & MILK-O-VIM
Many though, preferred to drink the healthful drink when it is served freezing cold. When kept in the ref, one could actually see the chocolate goodness settling at the bottom. One quick shake is all it took to wake up the refreshing, chocolatey goodness that ‘s perfect for snacks or meal times.

A companion dairy milk-based beverage, MILK-O-VIM, was also produced, a sort of a sweet malted milk drink, packed in a similar bottle, but this variant did not catch on.

CHOCO-VIM came out with a smattering of black and white print ads in the late 50s and 60s, and enjoyed a decade of success. The ads appeared in top weekly magazines like Women’s, Graphic, Philippines Free Press and other dailies.

However, new strides in milk technology caused the phase-out of the bottled product in the late 1960s. Beginning in 1969, CHOCO-VILM was replaced by Magnolia CHOCOLAIT, an all-new high-grade chocolate milk drink in new glass bottles. 
 
MAGNOLIA CHOC-VIM ADS, 1960s.

Eventually, bottles were eased out in favor of new packaging innovations including aseptic cartons, tetra bricks, and doy packs that caused the introduction of other chocolate milk brands like Daisy, Milo, Selecta Moo and Chuckie. But CHOCO-VIM will always be looked at with much fondness, for having started our love affair with the first ready-to-drink chocolate goodness in a bottle!

SOURCES:
Pe, Roger . “The Choco-Vim Diaries”, Philippine Daily Inquirer, 30 Sep. 2011, https://business.inquirer.net/22157/choco-vim-the-dairy-diaries

http://flyandflea.blogspot.com/2010/09/142-drinking-vitality-choco-vim.html

5 comments:

  1. I think the bottled choco vim wasn’t replaced with chocolait in 1969 coz’ i was born 1968 and during my pre school and elementary years this was my favorite drink after school. We had a store in aldevinco where one of the mercos was.

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  2. During my geade school days in the middle to late 60's, they sold Choco Vim along side Chocolair at the De La Salle Grade School canteen in taft. Chocolaut was priced higher than Choco Vim.

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  3. Choco Vim was not replaced by Chocolait. They were sold at the same time. Chocolait survived, Choco Vim did not and was phased outm

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  4. Conclusion of this article is wrong. Chocolait did not replace Choco Vim. They existed side by side for a time in the mid to late 60's until Choco Vim was phased out.

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  5. I still have fond memories of this chocolate drink which my lola used to sell in her sari-sari store. I was born in 1967, it lasted until in the early 70's.

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