Nehi (pronounced "knee high") is a flavored soft drink that originated in the United States. It was introduced in 1924 by Chero-Cola/Union Bottle Works. The "Nehi Corporation" name was adopted in 1928 after the Nehi fruit-flavored sodas became popular. In 1955, the company changed its name to Royal Crown Company, after the success of its  RC Cola brand. It was founded by Claud A. Hatcher a Columbus, Georgia grocer, who began bottling ginger ale and root beer in 1905. In April 2008, Nehi became a brand of Dr. Pepper Snapple Group (now Keurig Dr. Pepper) in the United States.

Claud A. Hatcher

Claud Adkins Hatcher was an American businessman. He invented the RC brand of beverages. He was a Columbus, Georgia based pharmacist and son of grocer. Through the family-owned Hatcher Grocery Company, Hatcher introduced a carbonated soft drink in 1905 called Royal Crown Ginger Ale.

Chero-Cola

The Chero-Cola company added Nehi Cola to its line of sodas in 1924 in order to offer a broader variety of flavors. It offered orange, grape, root beer, peach, and other flavors of soda. Nehi was instantly successful and outsold Chero-Cola entirely. The company changed its name to Nehi Corporation in 1928 and was listed on the New York Curb Exchange.  Business went well until 1930 when a major crisis occurred. Reflecting the Great Depression, which followed with the stock market crash of October 1929, Nehi Corporation's sales figures dropped by $1 million in 1930 from a high of $3.7 million in the previous year. Sales continued to decline until 1932, the only year in which the company had ever lost money.

Goes Hollywood

The company began to enhance its advertising by using celebrities. Bing Crosby, Joan Crawford(before joining the Pepsi Cola Company board of directors), Bob Hope and many others joined in selling the products of Nehi Corporation. When World War II was over, the company and its bottlers joined in a progressive program of expansion and improvement that made 1947 one of the great years in the history of the enterprise. In that year, Hedy Lamarr was pictured in point of purchase advertising signs. At that time, Nehi Corporation offered more than ten flavors. Those included Dr. Nehi, Nehi Chocolate, Nehi Root Beer, Nehi Lemonade, Nehi Wild Red, Nehi Blue Cream, and its more classic flavors Nehi Orange, Nehi Grape, and Nehi Peach. Many of these flavors were later dropped as their novelty and popularity waned.