AriZona Beverages, stylized as AriZona, is an American beverage producer founded in 1992 in Brooklyn, New York, known for its 99-cent iced tea in oversized cans. The company’s visual identity centers on a distinctive wordmark with a capitalized “Z” and elaborate can artwork inspired by Southwestern aesthetics, a design approach that has remained remarkably consistent for over three decades.
Design and History
AriZona Beverages was launched in 1992 by Don Vultaggio and John Ferolito, who had previously run a successful beer distribution business in Brooklyn. Inspired by the success of Snapple, the partners pivoted to iced tea and chose a 24-ounce can, the kind used for tallboy beers, that would tower over the 16-ounce Snapple cans on store shelves while selling at the same 99-cent price point.[1]
When naming the product, Vultaggio wanted a brand identity that evoked a healthy and warm lifestyle, the opposite of the Brooklyn he was familiar with. He originally considered the name Santa Fe, a nickname for his pastel-colored home, but felt it didn’t look right on the can. Even though he had never been to Arizona, he associated the state with a dry, healthy environment where people would want a refreshing iced tea, and the name looked good on the can with a stylized capital Z in the middle.[1] The company’s official FAQ confirms that Vultaggio looked at a map to see where it was hot, first considering Santa Fe before focusing on AriZona.[2]
The company’s own history page states that the brand was named after a “quirky admiration for Southwestern décor,” and that Vultaggio built a family-owned business that values bold, vibrant designs, emphasizing creativity through packaging that grabs attention on shelves.[3]
The initial package design for the Arizona Iced Tea line was done in-house by Ferolito and Vultaggio in collaboration with Jean Pettine Graphic Design Studios of Maple Shade, New Jersey, according to a 1994 industry report on the line winning a packaging award.[4] A later retrospective noted that Pettine served as the company’s “one-woman virtual design department” over the years, producing the initial sketches for the can.[5]
The vibrant can design, with its eye-catching checkerboard patterns and colors, was inspired by Vultaggio’s Santa Fe house.[6]
Meaning and Symbolism
The core AriZona wordmark is documented in U.S. trademark registrations. A registration issued in 2013 describes the mark as the word “AriZona” in a stylized, three-dimensional font running vertically and centered overtop of a blossoming cherry tree branch.[7] Another registration from the same period describes the mark as the word “AriZona” appearing centered between a split sunburst design in a 3-D format, with the first “A” and the “Z” appearing in an uppercase font and all remaining letters in lowercase.[8]
The stylized capital Z is a deliberate and defining element of the identity. Vultaggio told CNN in 2022 that the logo features a stylized capital Z that “just looks better on its cans.”[6] The company has also emphasized that the capital Z is completely intentional, pushing back on the assumption that the brand originates from the state of Arizona.[9]
Vultaggio has described the company’s packaging philosophy directly: “We use packaging and a value story, then a great product inside. The first time a person buys us is because of the package. And forever more, they’re buying it because it tastes great.”[1]
Typography and Design
The AriZona wordmark uses a stylized, three-dimensional font, as documented in the company’s trademark registrations.[7] The mark consistently pairs uppercase “A” and “Z” with lowercase intervening letters, a distinctive typographic treatment that has been part of the brand’s registered identity since at least the early 1990s.[8]
The brand’s visual identity extends well beyond the wordmark itself. The company’s About Us page emphasizes that the brand values “bold, vibrant designs” and uses packaging as the primary canvas for its creative expression.[3] The can artwork, featuring checkerboard patterns, cherry blossoms, and Southwestern-inspired motifs, has become as recognizable as the wordmark itself, with the packaging serving as the brand’s main marketing vehicle rather than traditional advertising.[1]
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