Traubi

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Traubi is a grape-flavored soft drink from Hungary, Austria, and Croatia. In Hungary, it was made before 1995 by Traubi Hungaria in Balatonvilágos, using a Hungarian grape called saszla. The name comes from the German word Trauben, meaning grapes. Visitors can see the production steps in Balatonvilágos, from grape harvest to bottling. In Austria, Waldquelle Kobersdorf GmbH makes Traubi in Kobersdorf. In Croatia, since 2006 a local company, Trento sokovi, licensed by Waldquelle, produces it in Brestovac.

The grape aroma was invented by Austrian winemaker Lenz Moser in 1954 and licensed to Traubi Hungaria in 1971. The drink became popular as Hungary’s first fizzy beverage and production spread to Kunbaja, Csány, and Debrecen. In 1973, another Traubi product named Márka appeared with flavors including orange, grape, sour cherry, and raspberry and became popular too.

In the 1980s, Coca‑Cola’s rise reduced Traubi’s popularity, and production dropped about 20%. In 1992, Traubi Hungaria bought the Balatonvilágos factory. In 1995, the Traubi trademark and its license were bought by Ráthonyi Ltd after Lenz Moser Ltd went bankrupt. Since then both Traubi Hungaria and Ráthonyi used the same name, leading to a long legal dispute. The owner of Traubi Hungaria, Salamon Berkowitz, claimed the old marketing team helped with ads, but court rulings mostly favored Ráthonyi Ltd and fined Berkowitz for fraud and trademark issues.

Many Hungarians feel nostalgic for Traubi, especially those who were teenagers in the 1980s. Márka remains a popular part of the Traubi lineup. Márka started in 1973 and has offered many flavors; by 2022 its range included pear-sage, ginger-lime, grape, sour cherry, jaffa, cola, orange, and raspberry, plus lemonade, iced tea, and flavored water.