This $1 canned drink opened a museum on iced tea: ‘AriZonaLand’

It’s only $1, but crazy fans think AriZona Iced Tea tastes like a million bucks.

The vibrantly colorful canned drink from the New York-based company was famously priced at just 99 cents, but has become a bona fide pop culture phenomenon over the years. Crazy fans have tattooed the infamous cherry blossom tree, collected hundreds of beverage cans, or wrapped their car in the Arizona Georgia Peach can design.

Just ask Hannah Mead, a resident of Lorton, Virginia and self-proclaimed “Zonie,” the name given to AriZona superfans who are obsessed with collecting rare or limited-edition merchandise. The 26-year-old has been fascinated with the brand since her first sip of AriZona Green Tea with Ginseng and Honey as a child.

“It left me with such an unforgettable taste. I was like, ‘I love this,’” Mead told The Post. “I’ve fallen in love with the brand ever since.”

As a member of the “Zonie gang,” Mead’s dedication to the brand extends beyond collecting cans and wearing AriZona merchandise.

She redesigned her 2011 Remake V2 Wide Genesis Coupe 2.0t body with AriZona green tea cherry blossom decals and headlights projecting the car’s AriZona-themed name. She named the car GeniZona because it is a combination of a Genesis coupe and AriZona Iced Tea.

“I came up with the general concept, like my license plate said $0.99,” Mead said. “I was trying to get people to understand that it’s the theme behind the iced tea.”

AriZonaLand

Many areas remain loyal to the AriZona brand because, after more than 30 years, it is still cheap, has attractive packaging and the taste of the drink remains the same.

But it also created a cult following that drew customers to everything the brand produced from juice, coffee, alcohol, candy, clothes and shoes.

Now open AriZonaLand, located in Keasbey, New Jersey, is a comprehensive museum on the history of AriZona Iced Tea, which is attached to a factory that produces the popular drink.

The area is also known as the experience center, a museum format where guests can learn about the various artifacts that tell the history of the iced tea company.

When tourists step inside, they’ll see nearly 1 million square feet of AriZona-inspired decor that includes retro colors, branded artifacts, handcrafted chandeliers made from an old bottle filler, and the first AriZona merchandise store.

Mead, who actively curates content around her love for the brand, revealed how she discovered she was featured in the AriZonaLand museum in an exhibit showing her dedication to the company.

“I almost started crying. I couldn’t put into words how much this meant to me because I’ve been so committed to the brand,” Mead said.

As attendees explore the two-level building, they can climb upstairs to gain insight into how the brand began, collaborations, the various products the brand has curated, the evolution of canned beverages and how the company practices sustainability.

Quality tea

AriZona Iced Tea sweetened the beverage industry in 1992 when co-founders Don Vultaggio and John Ferolito sought a drink that reminded them of heaven.

“Someone walks into a store, sees an attractive can or bottle,” Vultaggio, president of Arizona Beverage Company, told the Post. “If they haven’t had it before and they say, ‘Well this is interesting and the price is great’ and they take it home and drink it and like it. What will they buy the next time they buy that product? [AriZona]. Because it makes sense.”

It wasn’t long before the “big can” drinks, with flavors ranging from Mango Muncho, Green Tea and the infamous Arnold Palmer, became a pop culture phenomenon quenching everyone’s thirst for just 0.99¢.

“We can focus on a few basic things that appeal to the average person and our consumers, the average person, when he’s thirsty or she’s thirsty and they want to quench their thirst with something that tastes good, that’s consistently good, that looks wonderful and fairly priced,” Vultaggio said.

Despite the iced tea being named after Arizona, a place Vultaggio had never visited before developing the drink, he felt a connection to the desert setting.

“I always associated Arizona with a healthy, clean, dry feel that was different from the Brooklyn feel,” Vultaggio told CNN. “Having a name associated with a lifestyle, which is an environment and climate that makes you want to drink a refreshing iced tea.”

And the drink has shockingly remained 0.99¢ despite inflation, even though it should cost $2.26 according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ price calculator.

“Our ability to maintain the price even at a time when everything was going up was [that] we don’t have what I would call ‘spent spending,’” Vultaggio said.

Ded-tea company

Despite being under a dollar a can, areas have been known to spend up to $850 on merchandise.

AriZona’s first merchandise store, located in AriZonaLand, features seven exclusive products that can only be purchased in-store. Also displayed in the shop window are glasses, clothing, accessories, shoes, cosmetics, stationary, backpacks, skateboards, bicycles, surfboards, roller skates and AriZona plush pillows.

At the NJ factory, zones can also be immersed inside the process of how AriZona Iced Teas are cured inside the AriZonaLand factory, which has pink and brown paint accents along with green tea cherry blossom prints plastered across the floor.

“It’s the coolest factory I’ve ever been in and I’ve been in factories all over the world,” Vultaggio added.

As tourists walk through the facility, standing over bundles of tea, the aroma of AriZona Iced Tea’s Muncho Mango drink fills the entire room.

Tour guides allow 24 “zones” to begin the walk as long as they wear a hair net and remove items such as jewelry and fringed clothing to avoid those items falling into the drink shards.

“We are protecting our drinks. This is a live factory and we want to make sure we have the highest food safety requirements,” Nicole Cusson, 37, a senior human resources and safety manager at the site, told The Post.

Vultaggio always knew he wanted to give AriZona fans the opportunity to see how their favorite Iced Tea beverages were made when he started the venture nearly five years ago.

“I thought it would be nice to have the ability for them to see where it’s made,” Vultaggio said of the bright and cheerful factory. “This was the genesis of the idea. I think you’ll walk away with, ‘Hey, I love this product, and I love it even more now that I’ve seen how it’s made.“

Tourists are welcome to learn about AriZona’s manufacturing process with a free guided tour during operating hours, Monday through Friday from 10:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., as long as guests register on the company website.