Our Story
A Century in the Making:
The Story of Choice USA Beverage, Inc.
In 1939, Mr. Nanney acquired full ownership by buying out the Mingus brothers, signaling a new era of expansion and innovation. He quickly broadened the company’s portfolio, adding iconic beverage brands such as Orange Crush, Double Cola, Nugrape, and Cheerwine to its offerings. With growth came the need for new infrastructure, prompting Mr. Nanney to move from the original facility on Long Avenue to a newly built plant on East Franklin Boulevard.
Over the decades, the company weathered numerous changes—both internal and external. It operated under several names, including Double Cola Bottling, Orange Crush Bottling, and SunDrop Bottling, before officially becoming Choice USA Beverage, Inc. in 1987. Throughout the years, the company endured some of the most defining moments in modern history: the Great Depression, two World Wars, the assassination of President Kennedy, the Vietnam War, September 11th, and the COVID-19 pandemic. Through it all, the company remained resilient, consistently adapting and innovating to meet demand.
A young Jim Falls first encountered the company not as a businessman, but as a schoolboy. On his walks home, he—along with many local children—would detour for a sweet Double Cola, generously offered by Mr. Nanney himself. That early impression would later shape the course of his life.
In the early 1970s, Jim Falls returned to Gastonia as a young stockbroker. Shortly thereafter, Mr. Nanney offered to sell him the company. Without hesitation, Mr. Falls made the leap, investing more than double the company’s net worth in facility upgrades and machinery—signaling the start of a new chapter. Though he had no background in the beverage industry, he had the good fortune of mentorship: Mr. Nanney remained by his side for a decade, imparting decades of knowledge and guiding the next generation of leadership.
With 90 employees and multiple national brands under its belt—including SunDrop, Cheerwine, and Crush—Mr. Falls began envisioning a bold future: private label manufacturing. Fast-forward twenty years, and that vision materialized with the launch of the company’s own “Choice” brand, offering an array of flavored beverages and bottled water.
Today, Choice USA Beverage, Inc. is led by President and CEO Mr. Jay Falls, son of the late Jim Falls. Under Jay’s leadership, the company currently employs more than 150 team members with two facilities and distributes to seven counties within North Carolina and four in South Carolina. While the journey began over 100 years ago with a single product, Jay has propelled the company into the modern era, now distributing more than 40 national brands—including Snapple, Bai, Welch’s, and, of course, SunDrop.
Jay Falls remains dedicated not only to the success of the company, but to each and every employee who makes that success possible. A legacy of bold decisions, heartfelt leadership, and strategic innovation continues to define Choice USA Beverage, Inc.—and the best, it seems, is still to come.
and the best, it seems,
is still to come.
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