The Atlas Obscura Podcast · Tuesday, July 14, 2026
Edwin Perkins was a master marketer, understanding the shift towards branded products on grocery store shelves. He implemented a prize system, offering items like aviator caps and decoder rings for mailed-in Kool-Aid packets, which he believed was key to connecting with people. Perkins' innovative marketing strategies, including a prize system, contributed to Kool-Aid's rapid success, even during the Great Depression.
“As the story goes, he was watching his kid draw faces in a frosted glass and he came up with the idea of using a frosted pitcher and putting in symbols. That kind of continued until they, uh, developed the Kool-Aid Man, which made his first appearance in 1975.”
“So Edwin Perkins, in Hastings, had this great idea. He figured out how to make a powdered Kool-Aid. He knew how to market it, too. He came up with a prize system. So if you mailed in enough Kool-Aid packets, you could get stuff, like an aviator cap or a decoder ring or even like a little circus playset. He knew how to reward people. That's where I really think his genius is, um, is just in that ability to connect with people.”
“Kool-Aid was successful pretty much right off the bat. It debuted in 1927, and by 1931, they were already shipping nationwide, not even the Great Depression slowed things down.”