---
title: "Which came first, Fanta or India?"
description: "Fanta vs India: Fanta came first, by 7 years — 1940 against 1947. What happened in each case, and why the dates are often given differently."
url: https://atoneplace.net/which-came-first/fanta-vs-india/
site: "At One Place"
---

# Which came first, Fanta or India?

**Which came first, Fanta or India?: Fanta**

1940 — 7 years before India

Fanta came first, by 7 years. Coca-Cola's German bottler invented it when syrup imports stopped.

## Side by side

|  | Fanta | India |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Year | 1940 | 1947 |
| Date | — | 1947-08-15 |
| Category | food | country |
| What happened | Coca-Cola's German bottler invented it when syrup imports stopped. | India became independent from British rule. |

## Fanta

When the war cut Coca-Cola GmbH off from American syrup, its head Max Keith made a drink from what was available in Germany — whey left over from cheese making and apple pomace left over from cider pressing. The name came from a brainstorming session where staff were told to use their imagination, Fantasie. Sprite arrived 21 years later in 1961, developed from a German lemon drink Coca-Cola had launched in 1959, so Fanta comfortably predates it.

## India

India became independent on 15 August 1947 and a republic on 26 January 1950, when the constitution took effect — which is why the country has two national days. It remained a dominion with the British monarch as head of state for those two and a half years. India as a civilisation is thousands of years older; India as a state with its present borders is younger than the ballpoint pen.

## Common questions

### Which came first, Fanta or India?

Fanta, by 7 years — 1940 against 1947.

### When did Fanta start?

1940. Coca-Cola's German bottler invented it when syrup imports stopped.

### When did India start?

1947. India became independent from British rule.

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## Sources

- Wikidata — Wikimedia Foundation (https://www.wikidata.org/) [CC0 1.0]