The first papaya-flavoured sparkling soft drink was invented in Bolivia
Dante Salvietti, an Italian adventurer in the 1900s, went to the Bolivian Yungas and came across the papaya fruit. Impressed by its flavour, the idea of creating a papaya-flavoured soda occurred to him. In 1920, using what was cutting-edge technology for the time, he had bottles shipped from England to bottle what we now know as Salvietti Papaya. In 1930, he realizes another technological leap of the era by importing the bottle caps that are still used today. The drink first became popular with construction workers who used to snack on bread and Salvietti Papaya.
