Soft drinks have been given a bad rap, according to Darren Shelley, whose family has been making the product for 125 years.
The family is celebrating the 50th anniversary today (October 17) of Berts Soft Drinks, which they started at Taren Point four years after the original Shelleys business was floated and acquired by multinational British Tobacco.
“We don’t see soft drinks as being harmful,” said Mr Shelley, a fifth generation member, who, with his cousin Matthew, manages Berts.
“Soft drinks contain the same amount of sugar as they did 100 years ago, but people are moving less.”
Mr Shelley said children in particular were spending more time indoors on computers, iPads and mobile phones, or watching TV, instead of playing and enjoying other forms of exercise outdoors.
He acknowledged the company had been hurt by criticism of soft drinks as a major contributor to the growing obesity problem, but said it was still performing well.
Mr Shelley said Berts had also had to withstand the impact of the new container deposit scheme in NSW, which had added $2.44 to the cost of a carton of soft drink.
“We remain positive,” he said.
“It’s like when they put a bypass around Berry, the businesses had to find other ways [to attract customers],” he said.
Berts is one of only a few independent soft drink manufacturers remaining in Australia and a notable survivor in Sutherland Shire’s dwindling manufacturing sector.
Mr Shelley said the Taren Point factory provided 12-14 jobs.
Berts was founded by Albert “Bert” Shelley (Darren’s grandfather) and sons Arthur and Denis.
Arthur and Denis Shelley remain directors while being semi-retired.
The first bottles rolled off the production line in the 13,000 square metre, purpose-built factory in Alexander Avenue on October 17, 1968.
The firm still produces many of the traditional flavours, some dating back to 1893, including lemonade orange, pineapple, passionfruit, lemon and creaming soda.
The product range also includes brewed ginger beer, lite drinks (45 per cent less sugar), a club mixer range and still and carbonated mineral waters.
Unique Water – a magnesium carbonate-rich product which customers queued for hours to buy in 2002 after a magazine article – is still sought after.
Darren Shelley said Berts remained “a traditional soft drink company”, and had not got into “fancy” products such as ozonated water, sports drinks and energy drinks.
Mr Shelley said Berts produced sugar-free soft drinks at one point, but found there was little demand, with most people in the target market opting for water.
Over the years, the business has diversified into contract packing.
Mr Shelley said they had never wavered in its commitment to keep the company in family ownership and not to sell it off.
Two branches of the Shelley family were involved in the 1964 decision to float the company, which was founded in Broken Hill in 1893 by John Augustine Moore (“Jam”) Shelley.
“Bert” Shelley said later he was forced to go along with the decision, which resulted from a large tax bill.
